Immolation
by QueerAlien
Summary: Kiyomi was a weird kid, she could never connect with other people. Maybe it was because at night she dreamed of burning, or that she knew that in another life, she was used and manipulated. This time, she won't let that happen. She wont be another pawn in Kira's game. The queen will conquer. OC as Kiyomi Takada.
1. Confusion, acceptance

**There are a lot of SI-OC for death note, right? Idk, I saw a couple for Misa and Sayu-but none for Takada. So uh. Yeah.**

 **Also, I looked over her wiki and for family it just says 'father'? Weird. ¯\\_ȌᴥȌ_/¯**

 **2/21/2017: I'm editing some chapters, and I decided to combine chapter 1 and two. So chapter 3 is now chapter 2.**

* * *

She was given the name of Kiyomi Takada, and that's the only name that she's had. When she was born, it's the only name she responded too. A name her parents lovingly gave her. She was an odd child though, she didn't even cry when she was born, as least that's what her father told her.

She looked at her stuffed animals differently than other kids did. She knew she was supposed to find joy in the cute little plushies, but something held her back. Something in the back of her mind telling her not to bother with childish things. Her father picked up on it and thought it was because she wasn't challenged enough, prompting him to enroll her in school a year early. Takada of course, never complained.

Takada proved to be quite serious when it comes to learning. Her teachers loved to see a student so young wanting to learn so much, but at the same time they were concerned at how little she talked to the other students. It isn't that Takada didn't like her classmates, but they can't get her brain to focus as much as studying did.

For her, her brain never stops. There's a disconnect from her to the rest of the world. Reading, learning, trying new things makes her feel grounded. But she can't feel grounded by talking to people. She feels as if she's floating, or like she's drowning. She can never place which one it is.

When her kindergarten teacher brings it up at a student teacher conference, Takada is quick to correct herself. As if a switch was flipped, she starts talking to her classmates, she starts asking for help in class (Even though she doesn't need it), and trying her best to look like a normal little kid. Apparently, she nails her act, and her dad and teachers never bring it up again. Since she's so young, no one thinks anything of the sudden change.

She really doesn't like it though. She wants to cry from the sensory overload. She wants to just go back to studying and ignore everyone else, but normal kids don't do that.

Recently, she's been having dreams. She doesn't know if she can really call them dreams, actually. They aren't like what other kids talk. Hers are much darker. She knows not to talk about them though, a gut instinct almost.

A four year old shouldn't be this self aware, she realises. A four year old should be wondering what she'll eat for breakfast. She should not be thinking of what her next lie will be.

Suddenly, Takada understands why she isn't like the other children.

* * *

Tomorrow is her fifth birthday, but she asks her dad not to throw a party. Instead, she asks him to show her how to garden. Being around to many people makes her heart race unbelievable fast, and again, she doesn't understand why. In crowds she finds it hard to breath, and her vision starts to blur.

It's understandable for her not to want to have a birthday party.

Her father smiles at her, and it reminds her of a lily flower just blooming. " _Of course,"_ he says, " _if that will make you happy."_

She told him it would make her very happy.

They spent the day in the backyard, planting flowers and vegetables with the July sun beaming down at them. Takada was a inverted child, it wasn't weird. But her father notices how she let bugs and worms crawl up and down her arm too calmly. She never flinches when a spider danced along her toes, or when a centipede slides across her legs.

Mr. Takada grows very worried for his five year old daughter. But when she looks up at him with a smile as bright as the sun and says how much she loves her papa, he quickly forgets.

When Takada uses the word 'love', she doesn't understand why people get so happy over a word. She understands what the word implies, but just saying that word makes people melt. She doesn't understand why when she forces herself to smile, people smile back.

She tries not to think about it, she's only five years old. She shouldn't be thinking like this.

* * *

When she goes to bed that night, her nightmares, no- memories become more vivid. Before, they didn't feel so _real._ At first it was nice. She was with a boy whose hands felt so safe, but then she felt her skin _burn._ It happened within a second. She was at a school, and then she was burning.

When she wakes up, she isn't able to cry.

That feeling was still in the back of her mind, she has no time to recover from the nightmare because it hasn't stopped. When her dad knocks on the door, she closes her eyes again and pretends to be asleep. She complains when he 'wakes' her up. He chuckles and opens the curtains, letting the light flood in. She realises that a mask is necessary now. She can't let anyone find out about these dreams.

In a way, she likes the fire.

Takada accepts that she will die one day. She accepts that her dad will die, her neighbor will die, and even her hamster will die. It has been a few months since she turned five, and Takada still has those nightmares.

But she knows why.

She's never been so happy to be scared of sleeping. She feels more real when she's asleep, and if she wasn't scared, than she'd never want to wake up.

She understand this one girl in her dreams better than she understand herself. The girl's name is Sonia Romero, and she likes math and science. Takada thinks they'd be good friends, and Takada has been learning a lot from her.

Sonia has troubles at home, but throws herself in her studies to numb her pain. The one hobby she has is reading comic books and manga. This is when Takada is happy about her vivid dreams, nightmares, memories-whatever you call it, because Takada can read along with Sonia when Sonia finishes studying.

Personally, Takada's is really into a new Manga called Death Note.

* * *

Takada is now six years old, and Sonia has just started reading chapter 31 of Death note.

Takada is scared.

* * *

Takada is now seven years old, and Sonia has finished reading Death note.

Takada feels numb.

* * *

Takada is now ten years old, and has watched Sonia get rejected from her number one college.

Takada felt lost when she woke up, because she will no longer see Sonia when she closes her eyes. Sonia looked so sad when she locked herself in her bathroom. Takada will remember how Sonia held that knife.

Takada wonders how much blood is actually in the human body.

* * *

Takada is a perfect child. She has a good group of friends, does amazing in school, and is painfully optimistic. Her dad is happy to see that Takada no longer has such terrible social anxiety. If anything, she insists on being the center of attention.

She is twelve years old and looks so much like her mother, her father says. Her black hair rests on her shoulders with bangs cut straight across. Red is her favorite color, she prefers cats over dogs, adores biology and mystery novels, and is always drinking tea.

Also, she is quite an amazing liar.

* * *

Tadaka tucks her hair behind her ear and looks at the ground when she walks down the stairs of her home. Today has been a day she's been dreading, it's April first. The day that school begins.

Boxes still remained unopened from their most recent move, it only irritated Takada a little bit. If she had more time apart from studying and preparing for school, she would help her dad more. She's greeted by her father's smiling face when she comes down stairs. He sips his coffee while waiting by the door, holding a to-go cup of tea for herl. " _Only good things will happen today."_ He says.

Takada smiles and takes the to-go cup.

She felt like she was going to puke.

* * *

The streets of Tokyo have, and always will be, busy as hell. School isn't too far away from her home, it's a ten minute walk at most. Takada still looks ahead while she walks, her posture perfect, eye contact perfect, her stride perfect-she knows exactly how she wants others to see her.

If who she is inside can't be perfect, then who she is on the outside has to.

She lets out small, calm breaths. Counting in her head as she does so. She has been practicing what to say to her teachers and classmates the entire summer. Different ways to say, ' _yes,'_ and ' _no',_ she's been playing with tones and sarcasm, different ways to express thank. She's been preparing for any possible conversation.

She reminds herself that she's only twelve, and that most twelve year olds don't put this much thought into first impressions.

She almost laughs to herself at the thought of not putting this much effort into herself. She lets out a breath as the junior high school comes into view. She sees other students in the same uniform as her walk in, already talking to each other as if they've known each other for years. Well, that certainly is possible.

Walking through the gates she realized that yes, only good things will happen today.

* * *

Her teacher gives everyone assigned seats, which is normal. She sits near the front, one desk away from the window. She won't lie, she's a little jealous of the students who get window seats. No matter, Takada doesn't complain like the other students. She takes her seat and waits for instruction.

A girl next to her is already snacking, maybe a stress eating. Takada looks at her through the corner of her eye, yes, definitely stress eating. She looks like she's a about to cry, honestly. Takada smiled at her. It was a practiced smile, yes, but it was still a smile.

" _First days of school are always a pain, aren't they?"_ Takada says to the girl in a soft, inviting tone The other girl smiled and agreed, quickly introducing herself as Shiho. Another girl behind Takada pipes in as well, introducing herself as Emi.

Takada realises that these are the girls that she will soon have to call, 'friends'. She doesn't have a problem with Shiho or Emi, but she certainly wonders how long it will be until they grow to hate her.

Why would they hate Takada? She doesn't know. She just assumes they will. She realises that yes, that idea is silly. But so is the idea of her life being in a manga.

She takes a breath.

Yes. She will be alright.

* * *

Takada is elected to represent her class, along with a male student that goes by the name Sudou. Takada recognizes him from the manga. He's that bully that Light thinks about killing at the beginning. Perhaps Takada can change him; make him a model student. It would be a nice challenge to give herself. She has found that when she makes challenges for herself it gives her the same effect as reading, it keeps her grounded.

She glances at him from her desk. Her homeroom teacher only went over basic rules and expectations so far today, and it took so much time that it's now lunch break. Sudou is already goofing off with his friends.

Then again, what would be the point?

 _He will die one day, just as she will._

She shakes her head. This is no way for her to think, and she refuses to let this thinking control her. She gets up from her desk with her lunch in one hand and walks over to Sudou. A smile on her face as she pulls some of her hair behind her ear.

" _Forgive me for interrupting, but I was hoping that since we're both representing our class that we could get to know each other."_

He didn't hesitate when he smiled. It was a real smile. " _Yeah! Come on, grab a seat-hey, Kaoru, give Takada your seat-"_

She thinks it's kind of funny how preteen boys act around girls. So quick to drop everything. In all honesty, it's nice talking to Sudou and his friends. Emi and Shiho join the conversation as well. This was the best case scenario for Takadas first day of school to go.

Takada felt a migraine coming on.

* * *

After school she goes to check out the clubs her school offered. She thinks about Judo, It isn't an odd thing for girls, at her school it's actually a gender neutral club. It wouldn't kill her to learn how to defend herself a little bit too.

Multiple posters were already littering the hallways advertising many different clubs the moment she walked in this morning. . Basketball, dance, badminton, handball, Judo, baseball, swimming, athletics, ping pong, drama, photography, movie research, the list goes on. She was curious about drama, and decides to check it out after going to see what Judo was like.

She went into the main gym, right outside of the school building. It was more run down and seems to be mostly ignored. When she entered the gym, there seemed to be students already sparring. They must take their club seriously.

She thinks that it's better this way, because now she can just observe how the club works. However, the club leader quickly saw her.

The leader of the club is going to graduate next year, and apparently is well known across the school, Takada learns. Heikichi is how he introduced himself. His bright hazel eyes refuse to leave Takada's, which she hated. He was quick to lure her into the club. His bubbling personality and his lack of an understanding of personal space made it hard for her to escape.

Long story short, not only did she end up joining the Judo club on her first day, but she apparently caught the eyes of a few boys.

To bad she honestly doesn't care.

Also, she's kind of disappointed she couldn't check out drama club.

* * *

The streets of Tokyo will never calm down, Takada reminds herself as she walks home. Clutching her bag and struggling to keep her perfect posture, today took more out of her then she thought. No matter though, she thinks, she did well. Right?

When she unlocks the door to her home, all the boxes were all gone. It was refreshing to see, especially after a stressful day. She takes her shoes off and wanders into the living room to fully scope out how much her dad did.

Apparently, he did enough, seeing how he was asleep on the couch. She grabs a blanket from the cabinet and drapes it over him. " _Good night, papa"_

Her father never mentioned what happened to her mother, and Takada never asked. She doesn't mind that her dad works so much and that they always found themselves moving. Apparently though, this will be the last move. At least, that's what he said.

She turns off the lights in the room and quickly walks up the stairs to her room. She can't stomach dinner even if she wanted to. She opens the door to her room and falls face first onto her bed.

She wonders if this is normal.

She really hopes it isn't.

* * *

 **I really appreciate reviews, so please leave one!**


	2. Feelings, Unbalanced

(」゜ロ゜)」I realized...the BB case happens in July 22, 2002, so Takada turns 17 the same month that the murders begin.

Also, I started college so updates are a little slow. I've had this in my drafts for a while. This chapter has a lot of skips, we are going to get the the actually Kira case eventually lmao. The last couple of paragraphs are suggestive in nature. This chapter is heavily about Tadaka learning about herself, including her sexuality. There isn't anything to bad though, just a little kissing ⃛(❛ั◡˜๑)

SkippingThrough: ahh thank you! Eventually Tadaka will be happy, but it will take a while.

Animagirl: Tadakas relationship with her dad isn't the best, I'll admit it. Tadaka wants someone to ground her, and she wants to feel what other people do-but she doesn't know how. How she lives right now isn't really considered living, like you said. She's struggling. Eventually she will most likely have a breakdown because of it.

* * *

Takada is now in year eight, and thirteen years old. She's quite skilled at Judo, as well as filling her role in student government. Her father has been busy with work, taking more overtime than usual.

She has gained the title of Seiso Takada among her classmates, while others just say she plays hard to get.

Takada has also been taking notes on her dreams,nightmares, and memories. Since she turned thirteen, she hasn't been dreaming of burning as much. Instead, Takada finds herself in Sonia's room, alone most of the time. She can read all the manga Sonia had, books Sonia never got to read, and DVDs she never even took out of the cases. Whenever Takada wakes up, she takes notes on what she does in Sonia's room. Everything she reads or watches, she writes down. It's odd, she knows, how obsessive she's been getting over a dead girl.

But this is her life, dreaming, school, and Judo. It's boring.

* * *

After school she walks to the outskirts of Tokyo. She's found an abandoned office building. It is a bit shady, and it looks odd for a girl her age to be there alone at night, but she doesn't care.

Takada has to wear gloves now, because any more burns on her hands would draw bad attention.

She knows that this is bad, but oddly she feels like it fitting. Pyromania is a type of impulse control disorder. ICD is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, urge or impulse that may harm oneself or others.

But seeing that fire after a day of constant socialization, of constant lying and this persona she has-it causes this feeling in her chest that she's addicted to.

She looked up why she felt so good after seeing fire.

 _...Another cause may be that the patient is subconsciously seeking revenge for something that as occurred in the past..._

 _...it is important to know that pyromania is in fact not a mental disorder, though more of an impulsive act of stress relief..._

 _..Pyromaniacs have also been associated with abnormal cravings of power and social prestige..._

She smiles to herself as she stands up from the ground, watching her old homework burn. The heat feels so safe, and acts as the only light in the empty building aside from the glow of the moon through the windows. She closes her eyes and takes in the smell.

Yes.

No one has to know. Things don't have to be so boring.

* * *

Takada is now fourteen and is in her final year of Junior high. Many students look up to her, as they should. She is the club leader in Judo, as well as one of the most influential people in student government.

She is in the highest possible classes that her school provides, receiving the best marks as well.

" _Takada, come on, let's practice!"_ Emi said with a sigh as she plopped down on Takada's bed. Shiho just laughed at her friend. " _Come on, what if things work out with him and he asks me on another date? I won't know what to do."_

Takada smiles, but can't look at Emi in the eyes. A small blush is on her face at just the thought. Practice kissing with each other? That's something that she's only read about in books and seen in bad indie movies. It isn't like Emi isn't pretty, she'll have plenty of practice with boys if she wanted to, so why is she asking Takada?

" _...Okay."_ Takada says hesitantly. Emi's eyes widened and immediately sat on the floor in front of Takada, so close that they could feel each other's breath. Shiho wasn't even paying attention, texting someone on her phone.

Takada leans forward as the two girls lips brushed against each other. Takada lets her eyelids flutter closed as she pressed her lips more forcefully. They're just friends, Takada thinks. Emi slowly pushes Takada down, leaning over her as Emi's tongue dances across her lower lip.

But Takada couldn't help but hope that Emi will ask to practice again.

* * *

Takada later learns that the date Emi was practicing for was with Light Yagami.

She feels sick to her stomach.

* * *

Takada's dad misses her last Judo competition of the school year due to work. He can't stop apologizing to her when he comes home, but she insists that it's alright.

* * *

Sudou asks Takada to help him study for an entrance test for Daikoku Private Academy. She accepts and meets him at the public library every other day. He insists that she could easily get in on scholarship, but she tells him that is fine with public school.

He frowns at her but doesn't push the subject.

* * *

Someone knocks on Sonias door while Takada explores her room more. Takada stands frozen when she hear the noise. This has never happened before, she thinks. Anything can happen in dreams though. Hesitantly, Takada opens the door.

On the other side stood a boy and a girl, wide smiles and gifts in both hands. " _Happy birthday Sonia!"_ They say in unison. Takada furrows her eyebrows, but cannot will herself to say anything. She steps to the side of the door, letting them in.

They both sit on Sonia's bed and motion Takada to come sit next to them. She does so, with a horrible feeling. " _Open mine first!"_ Says the girl.

Takada holds the pink paper bag, filled with tissue paper. Slowly she takes the paper out, revealing a fancy antique mirror. It lied mirror down on the bag, and Takada picks it up but doesn't flip it around. " _Do you like it? I know how you like old things."_

Takada nods her head.

" _Open mine now"_ The boy says. Takada takes the bag from the boy, no tissue paper inside though. At the bottom of the bag was a black book, also face down. It felt weird holding it in her hands. " _You still like that series...death note, right? Thought you'd like a replica of the book Light uses."_

Takada forces herself to smile. Socialization even in her dreams, she doesn't like it. But then the boy takes the bag out of her hands as well as the book and places it on the ground. The girl places her hand on Takada's shoulder.

" _We have another present for you"_ The girl said. " _If you don't want to then it's fine. We can stop anytime."_

The boy next to her leans closer to her face. It was odd, feeling his breath and the girls so close to her. " _Just relax,"_ He murmurs. His lips stumble onto hers, and before long his tongue is exploring her mouth, forcing a moan out of Takada lips. She could feel his hand trace down her back, and she starts to wonder where the other girl went.

" _Are you scared?"_ A feminine voice said, that Takada quickly realized was the girl from earlier. " _Don't worry, we're your friends, after all."_ Takada didn't realize she was shaking until the girl holds her hand, her thumb tracing over her knuckles.

When Takada wakes up, her room is empty and dark. The touches she felt in her dream felt so real. She realizes that she is much more confused about...everything then she was before.


	3. Fear, Control

**Light appears in this chapter, Takada gets sick, tests her power over other people, and she prepares for the LABB murder case.**

 **This chapter is kind of longer than the past ones, too.**

 **(๑ ˊ͈ ᐞ ˋ͈ )ƅ̋**

 **Edit 11/24/2016 :: I misspelled Takada's name for the entire chapter. In case it wasn't clear before, I'm dyslexic AND stupid. Lmao. I think I fixed everything now. Also, I added a authors note to the end explaining a few things and responding to reviews from _this_ chapter that I first posted last night.**

* * *

 _"Takada, how are you? We haven't seen you since school ended!"_ Emi's voices whines on the other end of the phone. Takada lies on her bed, staring at her ceiling. Letting out a breath, Takada tells her friend that she's been busy at work. A summer job, a typical thing for students to have. She is a bit young to be working, however she was good at using all of her connections. One of them being that one of her club members in Judo had a parent who worked at Sakura TV.

She works similar to an intern, fetching coffee and making coffee. Takada has been wondering if she actually wanted to work their one day, since in her original story she did. She figured now is a good time to test the waters.

 _"Aw, okay. I'm so bummed that we're not going to the same school now either!_ " That's another thing that Takada has been thinking about. She decided on going to a local public school instead of a private academy like many of her peers. She lives in a part of Tokyo that is typically wealthy enough to send their children to the best school, leaving the public schools being further away. Also meaning that she's not going to know many people there.

She keeps telling herself that she's practiced her first impressions enough, but the thought of being in a new school with new people makes her chest hurt.

But it's mid July and she doesn't even want to think about it. She turns her head on her pillow with her phone still to her ear. She lazily looks through the window, seeing her dad work in the garden. The harsh sun beating down on him, causing beads of sweat to run down his face.

In an attempt to get the topic off of herself, she asks Emi how her and Light where doing.

 _"Ugh, that jerk! He broke up with me! Can you believe it?"_

Yes, she can, actually. She wonders if Light feels the same way as she does. Disconnected from everything, numb almost. No, no he doesn't, she reminds herself. He's different from her. Or at least, that's what Takada keeps trying to tell herself.

 _"You know what really sucks? Shiho is going after him now. I can't believe her!"_

That causes Takada to raise her eyebrows. Shiho never seemed to care about romance. Takada scolds herself for not paying more attention. Really, how is she going to get anywhere if she could figure out how teen girls think?

 _"You would never do that, Takada. Really, I don't think I've ever seen you bat an eye at a boy! You're so dedicated to school."_

Takada lets out a small laugh, saying that Emi flatters her to much. The two girls talk longer, and Takada feels a small ting of pain in her heart for some reason she could not figure out.

* * *

Takada tosses and turns in her bed that night. Sleep refusing to give her the outlet she wanted. With a huff, she sits up in her bed, running a hand through her hair. She forces herself up, changing into a pair of jeans and grabbing a jacket.

With a lighter in her hand she leaves the house. Her father took a night shift once again, leaving her with the option to come and go as she wants at night. However, she rarely takes the opportunity. She doesn't know if she's going to be going to that building, but she ponders that thought. Anxiety is bubbling up in her chest and she wants nothing more than to rip it out.

She looks up at the moon and sees not a cloud in the sky. Her expression sollum despite looking so young.

Few people pass her while she walks. The occasional drunk stumbling away trying to catch the last train, or a woman who seems to know the area to well not to have spent a lot of time out at night. Takada tries not to look at them long, stealing a glance through the corner of her eye.

She plays with the lighter in her pocket, twirling it between her fingers, not daring to light it though. Just the thought brings back thoughts of her body burning. The smell of gasoline fills her nostrils despite only thinking of it. She gulps. Maybe she won't go to that building tonight. Her nerves are too high, and she cant handle having her hands shake while she has a flame in her hands.

She stops inside a convenience store, passing the one employee at the checkout. She goes over to the drinks, finding solace in the sudden quiet atmosphere. The lights slightly flickr, the air almost stale. She grabs a green tea and heads over to the magazines. She picks one up at random, skimming over it. It's about fashion.

In the corner of one of the pages, she see's a face that feels familiar.

Oh.

That's Misa. She hasn't made it 'big' yet, but she's still in magazines. It's an add for a makeup product. She looks amazing, Takada won't deny it. But she doesn't feel pity for what Misa's future has in store.

She doesn't feel much pity for anyone in the story, really.

They all make the decisions themselves that lead to their demise. It's no ones fault but their own in her mind. Misa knew Light didn't love her, yet she still let him use her. That's what she wanted.

Takada sighed and put the magazine back. Not noticing her grip on her green tea growing tighter. As she was about to turn around and head to the cashier, she nearly bumps into a stranger.

He apologizes. Takada, nearly in shock of someone talking to her after being so in thought took a moment to process that there was a person in front of her. She quickly collects herself and tells him it's fine. The man lets out a soft chuckle. However, that's when she realises who she was standing in front of her.

 _"Are you coming back from one of the cram schools around here too?"_ He asks, a small smile ever present on his face. It was sincere too. It made Takada want to puke.

She quickly forms a lie that escapes her lips with ease. _"No, no. I work nearby and was just stopping on my way home."_ She says, glancing down at her drink.

 _"You work? Wow, you must be determined if you're also a student."_ He says, _"I'm Light, I could have sworn I've seen you before."_

 _"I've been told I just have one of those faces,"_ Takada says while a smile as well, but nowhere near as real. She takes a step past him with no intent of keeping the conversation going.

 _"At least tell me your name? Maybe I'll see you around here again."_

He isn't asking for her name to kill her. He isn't asking for her name to use her. He's asking it because he wants to know just because. It irks her. She wishes she could just skip past all this nonsense and get to kira.

Right now, Kira doesn't exist. Light Yagami is just another student.

But she answers.

 _"I doubt it."_

She puts back her drink and calmly leaves the store, leaving Light confused to what he could have done to make her so uninterested. He has to say, he's never had a girl so obviously bored with him. At least, that's what he thinks she's feeling. That's the impression she gave off and she's gotten almost too good at lying.

* * *

When she gets home, she finds herself rushing to the bathroom. Hunched over the toilet, vomiting every last thing she's eaten today. Anxiety rushes through her body, her chest aching from a pain that she can't stop. And god she just wants it to stop.

She refuses to let herself cry.

She takes a breath and flushes the toilet. With shaky legs, she stands up. A shiver runs down her spine, the cold suddenly hitting her. When was the last time she felt so sick? She braces herself with a hand on the wall after a wave of dizziness passes her.

This is his fault.

The worst part is that he doesn't even know it yet.

He doesn't even know her name yet and he has this power, this control over her. She felt tears well up in her eyes, close to finally breaking.

 _Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it._

No. She'll be stronger. She'll become something they're all scared of.

* * *

It was like that near breakdown never happened. Her optimistic and graceful persona shined brighter, as if to try and cover her dark circles and stumbling figure on its own. As Takada's determination grew, she found herself being pushed to new limits on how much she can truly fool other people.

Her performance at Sakura TV flourished, landing her a part time job once school started. Not only that, but she also joined her high school's Judo club in her first year at her new school. It left little room for sleep, but that didn't matter. She held herself to a high standard. Only allowing herself to do the best. Not her best.

Only the highest marks.

Anything less will be shown as something to be exploited, used against her.

She knows that she cannot be perfect, but this character she's always had for herself will. Deep down, she feels as if she's never been Takada. Takada is her front. Her lie that she hand crafted to be invincible.

Even though she feels like she's dying right now, she's going to make something of herself.

* * *

Takada did not let her social life die out in order for her academic life to grow. She pushed that as well. Even though her friendship with Emi and Shiho faded, she gained 'friends' in Judo and work.

Reluctantly to her inner self, she also got a boyfriend. Masao was his name. He was more athletic than anything. Teachers said that he'd one day be a professional soccer player, and his skills and determination on the field only proved it.

She laughed with him and acted as if she was in love. Deep down, she wished she was.

* * *

Her and Masao dated for the whole year and summer, until she caught him cheating with a girl from another school.

Honestly, she thought she wouldn't care.

And yet...

She felt as if everyone really was against her.

* * *

Her second year at the school didn't change from the past. Masao's reputation fell considerably. Takada's own reputation on the other hand, grew. She was already in good standing before, but now her classmates felt almost protective over the her. One of the school's smartest students who was an active member of the Judo club and worked at Sakura TV was bound to gain attention. She used that attention well, and made herself out to be one of the friendliest faces on school grounds. Helping anyone who asked and always keeping a smile.

And someone 'broke her heart'.

No one hesitated to take her side when school went back in session after the break and news spread.

Takada realized how much power she had over her classmates only then. She quickly realized how dependent on this persona she really was as well, because without it, she had nothing.

* * *

During her first year, she realized that her first option to 'interfere' with the plot was drawing close. The LABB murder case.

She didn't want a strong role in this part of the story, not yet. But she wanted to be known.

Hence why she started paperwork to be a transfer student in L.A. for the second half of her second year.

She was accepted immediately. Once Christmas ended, she'd be on a flight to L.A.

* * *

Masao transferred schools as well. Not overseas however. Just one school over.

After he and Takada broke up, his reputation didn't just drop-it disappeared.

The bullying became too much.

It wasn't until the death threats started that he had to do something. He convinced his parents to send him to a private school they could barely afford.

* * *

Takada found Masao on his last day at their school. It was by the soccer field after practice ended. He had to sit out again. Today was the day before winter break started. Snow was slowly beginning to fall. All of Takadas peers wished her luck for her trip to L.A. after break. She promised she'd write them any chance she'd had.

Most of the students have left. Masao, however, was trying to practice as much as he could since his teammates alienated him during club.

Takada watched him practice from the sidelines for a while before he noticed. He caught a glimpse of her through the corner of his eye. Immediately he stopped to kick the ball again, almost frozen. He scratched the back of his head before jogging over to her.

As the sun was setting, she grabbed him by the hands. She was much shorter then him, and it was always apparent when she stood so close to him. He almost forgot, and in that moment he saw how cute she was again. He missed it. Or maybe he just missed having friends. Her eyes beamed with sadness and passion as she spoke to him.

 _"I'm sorry that we didn't work out. I should have tried more, but I can't change the past. But please! Stay strong, Masao. Don't let the others get to you. You deserve so much, and I'll always be cheering for you!"_

He felt as if his heart was going to burst. Did she really think it was her fault? Guilt washed over him. In the moment, he wrapped his arms around her. She would always be there, wouldn't she? She is that type of girl after all. She always saw the best in people.

He ruined something good, he thinks, maybe one day he'll be good enough for her.

* * *

Takada didn't even have to practice the speech she gave her ex. The lies roll of her tongue like nothing.

He'll never know that she started the bullying.

She didn't even feel guilty.

* * *

Takada's father was thrilled yet saddened at the thought of his daughter being so far away. Thrilled because his daughter has achieved so much and seems so independent.

Saddened because he'd noticed her dark circles get darker. How her laughs over all theses years seemed...off. Something only a father can notice. He's saddened over how he felt as if he didn't even really know her.

He knew someone, but it didn't feel like someone real.

* * *

 **Authors note.**

 **Light wasn't a bad person before the note. I see him being tired from school and social expectations like Takada, but still friendly. He doesn't deceive and over think yet, but when the time comes he picks it up naturally. Takada on the other hand has had to practice this her entire life just to get on the same level as Light.**

 **Light and L are still geniuses. Takada is above average, but she has to try even harder then her canon self to become a genius and be a opponent that can stay alive.**

 **What Light and L come to naturally, Takada has had to fight tooth and nail for.**

 **That's all I have to say for this chapter.**

 **For the reviews though-**

 _Tide4Time :...This is... Interesting. It's not a sappy 'I'm an abused and lost and lonely Mary Sue' story, more of a 'Hey, this is how it is and that's just that' kinda story... Huh. I wanna see how this goes. Really, really good at lying, this Takada is! She even fooled Light!_

 _SO I do look forward to the next update, and I am following and favoriting!_

 **Yeah! Takada is adamant on fixing things herself since she's had a lot of time to come to terms with what happens to her canon self. Thank you so much!**

 _Not-Gonna-Update :_ T _hroughout the whole chapter, Takada's name was Tadaka. Was that intentional? She met Light! Too bad she got sick after meeting him... and it looks like her influence and reputation grew! Nice. She's actually gonna be there for the L. murder cases! Ooh..._

 _Thanks for updating._

 **Thank for you telling me about the name mistake OTL. I probably wouldn't have fixed it if you didn't tell me lmao. For Takada it was a mixture of sensory overload that she experienced a lot when she was younger and a regular panic attack that made her sick. She wasn't used to it so it made everything worse. Next time she meets him, it won't be as bad.**

 _DarkDust27 : I can't help but like this almost indifferent Tadaka, it would be funny if she was so disinterested in Light to the point of where he got frustrated at her lack of interest! ;D_

 **I'm glad you like her! It would be kind of cute if he got frustrated, wouldn't it? Ahah. Well, pre note Light getting frustrated would be cute. Post note though he'd be terrifying LMAO**


	4. Travels, Bodies

I don't want this story to be long as all hell, so i'm only going to really talk about the LA BB murder case in this chapter, and then later Takada will mention some of the details via flashbacks and memories.

Also! Kalmaegi, I read your review right before I posted this chapter.

 _Takada's name is Kiyomi. In Japan though, you usually call people you don't really know by their family name. And since Takada doesn't even really know herself, I saw fit to refer to herself as just her family name (symbolism, I guess). Most of the people at her school got used to her being more 'traditional', so they also call her by her family name as well. While she's in America she does introduce herself as Kiyomi, and later on she'll go Kiyomi when she needs to._

skipbeataddict

 _Thank you! Yeah, I started writing this with a more clear plan then my other stories._

* * *

The air in LA was much different from the air in Japan, but describing the difference was hard. It could have been her anxiety heightening her senses, but she also felt as if something was off. She brushes it off on jet lag, however. She took a deep breath as she waited for her luggage. The plane landed not too long ago, but she has yet to see her host family that she'll be staying with for the next three months.

She takes another deep breath.

Her grey suitcase slowly comes off of the conveyor belt, and she picks it up and places it on the ground with ease. She never thought she'd actually get home sick so fast. Maybe it's just the sense of security she felt when she was home is what she missed. Takada is going to have to be even more on guard then she usually is. What a pain.

* * *

She meets her host family ten minutes later, seemingly they were confused about the airport layout. She speaks to them in English, which she is nearly fluent in. She doesn't know one or two words, and sometimes her accent shines through a tad, but for the most part she's able to hold a conversation no problem.

The name of her host family is Boulevard, which she finds odd-but doesn't question it. Many of the people in the LA BB murder case story had odd names, she remembers. She decides that when she sleeps tonight, she'll re-read it once again. Just in case, really. She has it memorized to a T, but you can never be too sure.

Her host family is composed of Mr. Boulevard, Mrs. Boulevard, (Both in their mid thirties) Barbara, and Sean. Barbara is the same age as Takada, and is going to be showing Takada around the school tomorrow in the morning. Sean, on the other hand, is only in fifth grade.

Takada asks about the neighbors during dinner.

" _Oh, everyone here is mostly quiet. On our left we have the Bottomslash family- real lovely folk. On our right is the Windling twins, never married and never left each other's side. A bit weird if you ask me!_

* * *

She made the transition into the american school system seem like a walk in the park. She had plenty of people to sit with during lunch, and all the attention she never really wanted.

Barbra left school early one friday, about three weeks after Takada first started going. Leaving Takada to walk home alone. It was a tad more daunting than in Japan. The crime rates are higher and the streets are less pedestrian friendly in America, but it proves to be no problem as she gets home with the sun just now going down.

She catches one of the Windling twins outfront of their house, gardening. Takada takes a breath and walks over to them.

" _Good afternoon,"_ Takada starts. " _I'm living with the Boulevards and I thought I should at least introduce myself. I'm Kiyomi, I'm an exchange student from Japan."_ She uses her first name, taking note of the customs in America. It's odd, because even her 'friends' back home call her by her family name, but that is just what she prefers. Sometimes she just has to deal with it though.

The older women smiles, " _Pleased to meet you Kiyomi. You can call me Wanda. Would you like to come in for some tea?"_

The Windling twins, Takada learns, are very into science. In fact, that's all they care about. They said the only thing they've ever been with a man is annoyed. Takada felt the same, and told them that. They laughed and asked her what she was interested in pursuing as a career.

" _I like biology very much, but since I started working at a TV station in Japan I'm wondering if I'm really ment to go into science. I feels as if my story is already written"_

Takada didn't mean to answer with such honesty. But for some reason she just couldn't lie about that. It wasn't that important anyways.

Welma, the other twin, rests her hand on Tadakas shoulder with a small smile. " _No one has a future set in stone."_ She says. " _The fact that you feel that way means you have more control over your story then you think."_

* * *

Takada thinks about that a lot when she leaves.

She has dinner with the Boulevards and does her homework when she gets home.

She sleeps and re-reads the BB LA murder case again. She's been doing that every night when since she's gotten to America.

* * *

After a month of school in America, Tadaka leaves early. On her way home she see's one of the Bottomslashes try and carry groceries in.

Tadaka offers help.

Backyard Bottomslash agrees with a tried smile.

Backyard offers Tadaka coffee, which she accepts.

" _My host family says your a bank worker?"_

" _Yes, such a boring job. But it pays the bills."_ she says as she takes a sip and leans back in her chair. The harsh sun beaming in through the curtains." _It lets me live in a place like this too. I feel like I can die happy since I made it this far on my own."_

Takada gets home late. She and Backyard talk for a long time.

Apparently, Backyard ranaway from home when she was sixteen. Abusive homelife, she said. It took her a long time to open up to her boyfriend who lives with her now. It took her a long time to feel like it wasn't her fault.

Takada asks her what else she wants out of life now.

" _Hm?"_ She seemed surprised at the question runs a hand through her hair. " _I guess...I want to grow old and happy. Prove to my parents that they have no control over me anymore."_

Takada feels a ting of pain in her chest.

" _What about you Takada? What do you want out of life?"_

Takada stares into her now empty coffee cup, catching a glimpse at her reflection.

" _I don't know."_

* * *

Overall, it was refreshing in America.

A change of scenery does a lot of good, but that isn't why she came to LA.

She was reminded of that when she came home one night and saw that Mr. Boulevard was dead. Mrs. Boulevard worked overnight that night, while Barbara slept over at a friends house and Sean was on week long band trip.

Takada was the first to find him.

He was drugged, choked with a rope, and stabbed.

Takada didn't know she could let out such a loud scream.

The Windlings heard the scream and came over to see what happened, only to find Tadaka frozen in front of the bloody sight.

 _It wasn't supposed to be them._

Believe Bridesmaid was the one who should have died. Mr. Boulevard was a good man. She ate dinner with him every night for over two months. And...now he's gone.

Takada can't help but feel as if she was the one to blame.

But she swallows the feelings of self pity she could feel building up and replaces them with a stronger sense of justice. A stronger sense of hate. A stronger sense of _herself._

* * *

Takada has one and a half more months in America, despite the death of someone in her host family.

She's placed in a new host family after the police deem that it the murder was random. Of course, they're going to go back after the second killing to prove that it wasn't or whatever bla bla bla.

Honestly, Takada knows that it's best to lie low and not catch anyone's eye. That's how she wants it. But that makes things more difficult in a way that she hasn't had to deal with now.

Even the smallest lie can ruin her.

If she tells her host family that she's staying at school late when she's really forming a plan to find Beyond, the possibility of a police officer wanting to talk to her again is still there. The police officer would go to the school and not find her.

The exchange student from a host family whose father just died would be caught lying about where they were.

She doesn't have her current social standing that she has in Japan here either. She has people who like her, but no one that would lie for her. No one that would take her side thinking she was telling the truth.

So now, she has to get a lot more sneaky.

Meaning, Takada is going to have to get a lot more social in a short amount of time.

* * *

" _Jackson! I was wondering if you're free to see a movie tonight?"_ Jackson is a boy from her school who has been flirting with her since she first arrived. Asking him out was the best route to go if she wants her plan to work.

The movie theater that she wants to go to is by the hotel that Naomi is currently staying at. Takada is starting her plan off small.

Catch a glance at Naomi Misora. Time to make connections with people who _really_ matter.

The boy she goes to the movie theater is all over her. More so then she thought he would be.

She knows that she can tell him to back off whenever, but she doesn't. She lets him do what he wants in the theater. Including letting him slide his tongue down her throat. He's a horrible kisser but Takada acts like she's just as into as he is.

On the way out, however. He get more handsy.

Takada was expecting this. She also expected Naomi to leave her hotel at 10:30. Right around now.

His hands were all over her while walking back to his car. Naomi starts to tell him to back off, however he doesn't listen.

" _Hey, come on baby. Did I catch you off guard?"_

His hands are back on her, but she's resisting. She could probably take him in a fight if Naomi didn't show up, but she'd rather not. All her time in Judo hasn't been for nothing.

His lips where on her neck, sucking and licking. " _-Stop it!"_ Her voice wasn't playful. It was serious and borderline _mean._

Thankfully, someone else decided to step in.

" _Ma'am, are you alright?"_ The voice said. It belonged to a woman. Takada quickly shakes her head no.

Jackson quickly gets in his car without a second glance and mutters a bye.

Now, this is a situation Takada quickly likes.

She's alone with Naomi.

After Naomi introduces herself she offers to take Takada to a cafe to calm down at. She accepts the offer.

" _It's just... I wanted to have a fun night for once. Since I've came to America I've been so homesick. And after what happened to my host family..."_

" _You're the exchange student that lived with the Boulevard's?_ "

" _Yes. God, everytime I close my eyes I just see Mr. Boulevard's body and I-"_ Takada's voice began to quiver. Of course, right now Takada is completely lying about her emotions. She was a tad shaken after seeing Mr. Boulevard dead, but he was not the first dead body she's seen.

How old was she again when she saw Sonia kill herself again? Takada can't remember.

" _It's alright 's only normal after seeing such a...gruesome sight."_ Naomi responds with a motherly tone. Takada gulps and purposes avoids eye contact with Naomi.

" _You said you're a police officer?"_

Takada knows that Naomi is FBI. But when Naomi introduced herself as police when they walked to the cafe, Takada didn't mind playing along.

" _I...I think I know something that the police haven't picked up yet about Mr. Boulevard, but I didn't want to seem like a know it all or like a kid trying to play detective. If I tell you, know one will know that I said it, right?"_

" _Of course."_

" _It looked like after Mr. Boulevard was stabbed, the Killer took the time to re-dress him. As the paramedics were putting Boulevard in a body bag, I saw that the slashes on his body almost looked like a roman numeral code of sorts."_

" _That's an amazing observation, Kyiomi."_

 _Takada gulps again. "I just...I hope no one else gets hurt. I feel like the killer is almost playing a game. It's...horrible."_

" _I will pass along the information."_

" _Thank you"_

* * *

That was the best case for Takada's night to turn out.

Think of it this way.

L most likely already knows of Takada, since she was the one to discover Mr. Boulevard's body. Now that Naomi knows of her, and will probably passalong the information that Takada told her to L, she might be a name he'll remember.

Depending on how much Takada wants to be involved in the Kira case, this will help her.

When anyone thinks they have an advantage, they're more vulnerable for an attack. Takada is used to not being taken seriously. Let it be because she's young and looks like a 'meek' girl, but she finds it easier to win in situations like this.

L doesn't know what she knows. Neither does Light, Misa, Naomi, or anyone.

* * *

Trying to find BB would obviously be more difficult.

She could stalk the next victim, the Bottomslash's. However the chances of the 28 year old banker being the next victim is unlikely, seeing how he isn't killing the same people that he did in the book. It could have been due to Takada's interference already.

She could follow Naomi, but she would be found out easily. Naomi is an FBI agent, and no matter how much Takada sneaks or knows, Naomi will prevail.

She could give up. She doesn't need to find him, it's not important or anything. He has no effect on Takada's future.

Takada sighs and falls back onto her bed. Maybe she should just forget about it. She groans and covers her face with her hands. She doesn't recall being so cornered before. But this is good practice for her future.

She glances at her phone on the nightstand. She bites her lip and rolls over to grab it, quickly dialing her father's number.

He answered in two rings.

" _Kiyomi? Are you okay kiddo?"_

" _I'm fine papa. I was just feeling a bit homesick. Are you free to talk?"_

* * *

When she was walking to school, she noticed she was being followed. She kept walking forward as if she didn't know.

* * *

When she left school she made sure to walk with her friends along with Barbra. She was still being followed.

* * *

Takada only has one more month until she has to go back to Japan. She won't be in LA for the end of the case.

* * *

Takada spent a lot of her time thinking in a different way. She spent her life making sure she wasn't going to be used, but what will happen to her after the Kira case was over? Will she be able to function normally, get a job, have actual friends? It feels like a thought meant for the distant future. But the anxiety once again heavy in her chest won't let her think about anything else.

She glanced out the window of room. Seeing the stars so far away in the sky. She closed her eyes and took in a breath. It's going to be alright, she tells herself.

* * *

She calls Naomi one day before she goes back to Japan and meets her at a local coffee shop. The air smelt of rich coffee beans and a calming aura of old books flooded her senses. She takes a seat in a leather sofa near a window.

Naomi quickly finds her and offers a small smile, which Takada returns. " _You're heading back home tomorrow, you must be homestuck by now."_

" _Y-yeah. I can't lie that I can't wait to get out of America. It's a lot scarier then I thought it would be"_

" _Murders like the one you saw aren't common here, if it helps calm your nerves."_

" _...Do you think you'll catch the guy who did it? You wouldn't lie to me, right?"_

" _Of course I will. You don't have to worry, he won't hurt anyone else on my watch."_

" _Do you promise? I can't stop thinking about how much pain my original host family is in. How it could have been any of them. Or.. me."_

" _I promise."_

Takada smiled.

" _I trust you."_

Takada knows that Naomi is lying. Naomi sees Takada just how everyone else does. A smart, meek, girl. Maybe even a girl with a tragic past if you go into her files. No mom, low income, father always working, amazing at school, low chances of affording university despite her knowledge.

Takada is a girl who has to be protected.

What a load of garbage.

* * *

Please leave a review! I read all of them and they motivate me to get the next chapter out.

Chapter 6 will have a little more Light in it, by the way


	5. Conversations, Mourning

**I was going through my outline I have on google docs, and when I clicked the explore button it brought up three topics. Trust, Reason, and Hatred. I thought it summarized Kiyomi pretty well lmao. It also brought up a paper about thinking vs. feeling. I didn't know google was so helpful with character building/exploring? How long has this been a thing and i just didn't know?**

 **Soo this chapter is a thing!**

* * *

 _Home._ She didn't know how much she missed it until she stepped inside. Her father was behind her, carrying her bags inside while she stood in the doorway. The smell of coffee seemed ever present in the Takada household, even though personally she liked tea more. The way the wooden floor would always creek with the smallest of steps, it filled a part of her heart that she didn't know felt empty.

Or maybe this is what everyone called 'homesickness' and she just didn't know until now how much being homesick hurts. It could be the stress of L.A. falling off her shoulders like nothing, or that could just be her dad, always ready to listen even if she didn't feel like talking.

God, she missed this.

" _You okay, Kiyomi?"_ Her dad said with a small chuckle. She turned her head, realizing she was in the way. She quickly stepped to the side and took of her shoes.

" _Sorry papa. It's just weird to be back."_ She said. " _I didn't really know how much I considered this house home until now."_

He took his shoes off and closed the door behind him, placing her bags on the ground for a moment. " _We did move a lot when you were younger, didn't we? You probably don't remember all of the places we stayed."_

" _Japan isn't the cheapest place to live."_ She said, a small smile on her face. " _But I liked moving, It's builds character."_

" _That's one way to put it."_ He replies. "' _Can also make people lonely. I'm glad that you never suffered that."_

Takada gulps, not knowing exactly how to respond. She picks up her bags and still gives a small smile to her dad. " _How could I be lonely with you around, papa?"_

She turns to the stairs to her room, wanting to unpack as fast as possible. Her father watched her frame disappear up the creaking stairs. The smile on his face fading as he thinks. The word loneliness won't stop repeating in his mind.

Kiyomi, his flesh and blood, never seemed lonely. She could make friends wherever she went, so charismatic and ready to explore new things. Nothing like him or his now deceased wife, but he'll never say that.

Considering everything, it would be normal to say she was lonely at times. Never knowing her mother, moving almost every month until junior high, her own father missing her Judo competitions. Being a bit sad would be normal.

By why won't she talk to him about it? Does she feel like she's expected to be happy? Mr. Takada hopes that it isn't the case. He lets out a breath, nonetheless, and heads for the kitchen.

As he prepares tea for his daughter (She's like her mother with her love for tea, he thinks. He much prefers coffee instead), eager to hear more about her time in L.A. He wonders what life could have been like if Kiyomi's mother was still around.

" _Papa! Are you making me tea?"_ He hears her say with a small laugh from up the stairs, " _Do you still remember how I like it?"_

" _Of course! Now come down here, you can unpack later. I must hear more about your time in L.A.!"_

* * *

Her final year of school starts in a month, exactly. Her final year is also when Kira will start killing. Currently, Kiyomi is in her backyard. Watering the garden that has since been ignored since she left before winter break.

This is a 'healthier' alternative to setting things on fire, but it's also just a thing that Kiyomi felt like she should do. It makes sense, coming back from L.A. having tea with her dad, then going out in the garden. Today is a day meant to relax and calm down after being away from Japan for so long, however not a bone in her body allowed that to happen. For good reason, she's going to be be entering a dangerous game soon.

A spider runs across her legs as she kneeled down in the dirt, trying to pull out a weed she just found. She smiles at it, which she didn't expect herself to do.

Maybe she's more stressed out then she thought.

She takes a deep breath, looking up at the sky for a moment. Not a cloud dared to cover the sun today, but it was still cool out. The sun wasn't too harsh. She wonders what her life could have been if Kira's reign never starts. She realizes though, after having this thought many times when she was younger, that if Light doesn't pick up the note, someone else will.

This is how things have to be.

She takes another breath and looks through the window into the house, seeing her dad in the kitchen. She wonders if he'll ever know what she's going to be doing.

She hope to god, if there even is one, that he never, _ever,_ finds out.

* * *

" _Hello?"_

" _Is this Takada Kiyomi?"_

" _Speaking."_

" _Ahah! You sound so formal on the phone, well I guess I do too. It's me, Sudou."_

" _Sudou! It's been so long. How are you?"_

" _I'm fine, school has been so weird without you. I can't believe our final year is almost here. I still think you should have gone to the same school as me."_

" _Daiku? I don't think I'm meant for private academies like that, but I told you that before."_ She said, " _Is that why you called?"_

" _No, well, not completely. I wanted to hang out with you, before you got all busy again. I'm going to karaoke with some friends tomorrow night. Kaoru, me, one or two people from my school-You'll get along with them great!."_

" _I hope you're not expecting me to sing."_

" _Pft, of course not. The one thing perfect Takada isn't perfect at."_

" _Rude!"_

" _Well? Are you coming or not?"_

" _You should know I'd say yes regardless."_

" _Hell yeah. I'll text you the details, Kiyo"_

" _Bye!"_

* * *

It's early in the morning as a train passes behind the Takada household. Kiyomi wakes up to the smell of coffee. She rolls over in bed, letting out a sigh. She forgot to close her bedroom window last night after her call with Sudou. She can hear children outside, along with passing cars and the train.

She would rather just stay in bed all day. Stay underneath the warm covers, where she knows no one will bother her. Being constantly tired is a thing that happens, when you can't even sleep in your dreams.

" _Kiyomi! Breakfast is ready!"_

She inwardly groaned and forced herself up, sluggishly throwing her blanket out of the way. She might as well enjoy days like this while she can.

* * *

She spent most of the day cleaning the house, since her dad had little time to do so himself. She wondered if he picked up another job without her knowing. However, at five today she's going to Harajuku with Sudou and his friends.

Right now, she's trying to get ready. She's only now aware of how much her hair has grown. It's almost to her elbows. She groaned at the thought of going to get her haircut.

* * *

Takada rarely comes to Harajuku. The only times she found herself in the busy streets is when she's been dragged along by friends after judo practice or when she has to run errands for Sakura TV.

She see's the back of Sudou's head in front of the karaoke building. She quickly picks up her pace. As she get's closer, she can see the people he's with. It looks like two other girls and one other guy. She can't get a good view of them just yet though.

" _Sudou!"_ She calls out, making him turn around. She comes face to face with him, sharing a smile.

" _You made it, just in time._ " He says. He then gestures to his friends. Takada's eyes follow, however she quickly feels her heart sink. " _This is Rei,_ " The girl with brown, short hair smiles as slightly waves, " _Chiyo,"_ The girl with her black hair in a ponytail smiles, " _And this is Light."_

Light's smile seems so sincere. However, even though she returns the smile, she feels as if the universe is taunting her.

" _Everyone, this is my friend from middle school-"_

" _You mean the girl that got you in Daiku?"_ Rei teases. Sudou rolls his eyes as Light and Chiyo both laugh at the comment.

" _I just helped him focus studying,"_ Takada interjects. " _I'm Kiyo. Nice you meet you all. I hope Sudou hasn't caused anyone trouble."_

" _Now that you mention it, actually-"_ Chiyo says. Takada quickly realizes that teasing Sudou is a common theme.

* * *

Chiyo and Sudou turned a simple duet into a battle of sorts. They're on their third song, both trying to get a better score than the other. Rei is only making matters worse by egging them on. Light makes a few smart comments about their singing that Takada forces herself to laugh at.

" _So is Kiyo a nickname?"_ Light asks, trying to make small talk.

" _Mhm, Sudou came up with it, and it stuck."_ That was a lie. Sudou was the only one to call her that in middle school. She just went with it now because she panicked. " _It's what everyone calls me now."_

" _So what's your actual name then?"_ He asks. " _You don't really look like a nickname kind of person."_

" _What kind of person do I look like then?"_

" _A traditional kind."_ He responds.

" _Really? How about you call me Takada then. It's my family name, it's about as traditional as you can get."_

He chuckles, intrigued by Takada's quick comeback. " _You're pretty interesting then, Takada."_

" _At least one of us is."_

He had to cover his mouth with his hand to try and contain his laughter. " _I'm not used to girl's like you."_ He said.

" _You mean girls who aren't immediately enamored by you?"_

" _No-no, I don't want you to think that I'm some playboy or anything. I care more about school and getting into a good university then dating. You seem as uninterested in this whole...social gathering as I am. I meant that I wasn't used to talking to someone like me."_

Takada paused.

" _If you think I'm like you, then you have a worse judge of character then I thought."_

" _Why don't we swap numbers so I can learn what kind of person you are then?"_ He replies easily.

" _I'm afraid I have to pass."_

" _Why? Afraid of a challenge?"_ He taunted playfully.

" _Afraid? Me? Never. I just don't like talking to you."_

" _Wow. Straightforward."_

" _One of my best traits."_

* * *

Takada got home late that night. It was almost one a.m. when she opened the door to her home. She half expected her dad to be at work.

All the light in the house where on though, which caught her by surprise. She could still smell the coffee in the kitchen from when she left earlier today. She felt a lump form in her throat for some reason.

" _Papa?"_ She asks the quiet house, the wood underneath her squeaking as she took a step. There was no response. " _Papa?"_ She asks louder. Maybe her dad did work tonight. But he never left the lights on when he left, and the door wasn't locked when she came home.

When she turned the corner at the stair case, however, her question was answered.

Blood dripped down the steps. Her dad never left for work.

He fell.

His body lied still on the ground.

The sight of seeing his body didn't make her scream. It didn't make her cry. It made her take a deep breath and pull her phone out of her pocket.

Her father is dead.

She can't change that.

She talked on the phone with 119 until they arrived, carrying her father out in a body bag.

She went to bed wondering if the concept of 'fair' will ever be relevant in her life.


	6. Growth, Uncertainty

This is a shorter chapter. Just Takada collecting herself a bit, exploring a friendship she actually enjoys, and learning a lil about herself. Next chapter though...we get some more plot. By some I mean a lot. A lot a lot.

Iluvfairytale: _I glad that you've noticed her changing! I wanted to show how detached from everything she was when she was younger so future relationships and emotions mean a bit more. But you know...everything gets better right before it gets worse ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

Tide4Time: _Me? having sadistic streak? Never..._

DarkDust27: _It wasn't Light, but close ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

* * *

Kiyomi can't sleep. At all. She finds herself dozing off at work, so much so that her co-workers can tell. She's kept to herself about her father's death, not wanting any pity. Keep working, keep thinking, keep learning, that's all she can do. As long as she keeps doing _something_ then she'll survive. If she waits to mourn, she knows that she wont stop. She'll fall down a hole of self-loathing and she can't have that. Failure is not an option here.

" _Miss Takada, can you copy these papers and get them to Demegawa?"_ A coworker asks, snapping her out of her thoughts. Takada nods, taking the paper and heading off to the copiers. She's going to have to sell the house, maybe move into an apartment closer to the school and work. Maybe take up a second job. Or maybe she can-.

Wait. Breath. She's getting ahead of herself. After work today she'll call someone else to sell the house. It's going to be fine, she reminds herself.

" _I'm going to be fine."_

* * *

School is starting in a week. She lives in a small apartment alone now, her family home sold rather quick. The apartment is closer to her work, but further from her school. Which is fine, since she's only going to be in school for one year. Afterwards, she can take the train to to-ho, which she's confident she's going to be accepted into.

She's also gotten to talking to Shingo Mido, a future member of Yotsuba. He's two years ahead of her and goes to To-Ho, he lives in the same apartment complex as Takada.

" _I don't see the point in spending money on a fancy apartment seeing how I spend most of my time at To-Ho's library anyways."_ He said. Some nights she goes over to his apartment, usually to eat after a long day. He's oddly friendly towards her, and made it clear that he has no ill intentions. " _I enjoy your company, that's all."_

The frienship is much more low maintenance then the ones she has with people in her high school, which she appreciates. Especially since coming home to an empty apartment some nights can be... unsettling. Regardless, she's made the transition into 'adulthood' rather early, but is still making the best of it.

* * *

" _Takada! How was L.A.?" "Is it true your host family died?" "Did you get a boyfriend?"_

The questions seemed never ending, and even though she had to act as if she was loving all the attention, she just wanted to go home and study. She even considered online classes, but knew that it would draw questions.

She held back a sigh while she smiled to her classmates, telling them stories about the life she had while in America.

 _She really hates her classmates._

 _They're annoying._

 _She just wants to be left alone,_ _ **kill Light**_ _and-_

Wait. Kill Light? Did she really want to do that? She wants him to suffer, sure. Rot in jail. Have people know that their 'god' is just a insufferable boy...but killing him? No. She's not a murderer. She's better than that.

For once, her thoughts caught her off guard.

" _Takada? Why'd you stop talking?"_

" _Huh? Oh, I'm sorry! I got wrapped up in my thoughts, as I was saying-"_

* * *

The flames grew, crackling and popping. Takada leaned back on the damaged wall of the building as her old tests, homework, love letters, and a phone charm that she stole from the girl who sits next to her in class burns. She folded her arms, taking in the sounds and the warmth the fire created.

Let it all burn.

It's time to start over. These negative feelings have no place in Takada's soul.

In order to survive here, you can't have any weakness.

Maybe this fire symbolizes the death of Mr. Boulevard, her father, her childhood. Are her connections her weakness? Or is it just her emotions?

The reason Light got so far was because he didn't care about others, he cared about winning. Maybe that's what Takada needs to do?

No. Takada can be better. She can do both. She can have a life and win too. She reminds herself that she can do this, she can do this, she can do this...

* * *

When Takada went home, she was welcomed to an empty apartment. All the lights were off, per usual, and everything was just how she left it. She ran a hand through her hair and let out a breath.

" _Finally, no one to bother me."_ She says through a sigh. She grabs a glass of water and resigns on her bed, pulling her laptop closer. She googles the L.A. case quickly, expecting to see that the murderer was apprehended. It was a thought that she let fade to the back of her head. Assuming that it would be taken care of.

However, that is not what she found at all.

" _The killer is still at large. If you have any information, please call the L.A. police department at..."_

Her eyes widened. L didn't catch him? Naomi didn't find him in time? That's...Impossible She bit her lip, what is she supposed to do now? She can't just ignore it, can she? Is this her problem? Fuck, she shouldn't have gone to L.A. Fuck fuck fuck.

" _L, I thought you where the world's greatest detective for a reason."_ She mutters to herself.

* * *

Later that night, she found herself looking at the ceiling. No rest tonight, she guesses.

* * *

" _I think I'm going to study biology...something like that."_ Takada muses out loud as she sits on the kitchen counters of Mido's apartment. He hums in response, adding more ingredients to a pot sitting on the stove.

" _I could see you doing that."_ He says. " _Are you asking for my opinion or just thinking outloud?"_

"... _I wouldn't mind hearing what you think."_

" _You would make a good forensic pathologist. Go to To-ho for four years, then transfer to a nearby medical school for two years..."_

" _Sound expensive."_

" _That's because it is."_

" _I don't know if you caught onto this...Mido, but here me out. I don't live in a shitty apartment for fun."_

Mido let out a small laugh, glancing at Takada through the corner of his eye before looking back at the stove. " _Are you stressed, by any chance Takada? You usually don't get so sarcastic unless something is going on."_

" _Are we at that stage of our friendship where you can tell?"_

" _I'm just a very observant person."_

" _...And that will be your downfall. No one likes a know it all. At least pretend to be normal."_

" _What, like you?"_

" _Yes. Exactly."_ They both laughed at that. Takada doesn't remember the last time she legitimately laughed. She didn't expect to actually enjoy Mido's company, either. She thought it would be another mindless friendship she had for show.

Yet here she is. Laughing. Maybe she could get used to this.

Maybe.

* * *

After dinner, Takada went back to her apartment and immediately fell onto her bed, face first. Even though she enjoyed talking to Mido, she gets exhausted after the smallest of social interactions. That's just how she is.

Tomorrow she has Judo practice, then work until 11. The same for the next day, and the next day. She sighed.

She didn't think this was how things were going to be.

She'll get through this though. She knows she will.

* * *

Please leave a review! I read all of them and they mean a lot!

Also... Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! I don't have a huge family, so I ended up finishing this chapter on Christmas. It was kind of bitter sweet ahah;;


	7. Accomplishments, acknowledgements

⌒°(❛ᴗ❛)°⌒ **Happy 2017 everyone! Downside: I have college classes starting again this week...kill me...**

 **OKAY. Tl;DR: We learn what Naomi has been doing since L.A., what Kiyomi placed in the nation wide exam, some school life, Light picking up the death note, and Light learning about Kiyomi (A little) We also see L for a tiny bit.**

 **Arashi - IV of VI** : I can't answer that, I guess you just have to wait, eheh ヾ(｡･ω･)ｼ

 **kaitlin2515** : Thank you!

 **UniCryin** : Looks like you got what you wanted, ahah.

 **Pineapple-Lady-sama** : ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **Makesomehassel** : (✿´ ꒳ ` ) I can't promise anything, eheh.

* * *

" _Naomi, recent updates on Rue."_

" _Currently in Japan, still hiding."_ She said, " _I believe he's starting to feel cornered."_

" _Do you require any aid?"_

" _No, L."_

" _I will be calling back in a month. Call this number if you find anything else."_

" _Got it."_

And the line went silent.

Naomi leaned back in her seat, alone in another hotel this month. Since L.A. she's been on a chase to find the odd man claiming to be a detective when she was in America little under a year ago. He said he was hired by one of the victims families to figure out what happened. With the little information that a girl by the name of Kiyomi Takada gave, she was able to figure out the puzzle the murderer created faster than he expected.

Conveniently, that's also when Rue Ryuzaki disappeared. She was able to connect the dots, and contacted L. He revealed that Rue actually was B.B, the suspected murderer. L was using Naomi to simply solve the puzzle the murderer created to have enough evidence to convict him.

During that time, Naomi's boyfriend, Raye, proposed. She had to turn him down. She couldn't risk him getting hurt. L gave her more space on the case as well, giving her any resources she needed in order to hunt B.B.

As long as B.B. isn't on a killing spree, L would rather focus on other cases. This was a game he got tired of playing, and didn't mind handing over to Naomi. Naomi left the FBI as a result, and dedicated all her time to finding B.B. She's been keeping tabs on Kiyomi too, feeling a small amount of guilt for what has happened to the girl since L.A.

" _Beyond Birthday...What is you're trying to do now?"_ She muttered, looking out the window at the busy street of Japan. The dark sky loomed over the city, only the stars visible.

* * *

" _Kiyo!"_ A high pitched voice sang out, pulling Takada away from her thoughts. It was break, and she was sitting outside in her school's courtyard. The sun was somewhere in the sky, but covered by clouds. The air was still warm though.

Takada closed the book she was reading and directed her attention to the girl who called out to her. " _I hear you're going to another Judo competition, right?"_ The girl eagerly asked.

" _Yes, against Daiku private academies team."_

" _Ahh? That's so cool! You're going to totally destroy them!"_

" _Well, that is the plan."_

" _I heard that you have friends that go there?"_

" _From middle school, but we haven't talked since school started back up this year."_ She said, " _Why?"_

" _Rumor has it that you went on a date with Light Yagami, one of like...Japan's smartest, during summer break."_

Takada rose her eyebrows and tried to hide a face of disgust. " _I went to karaoke with a couple of friends and Light Yagami happened to be there. It could be hardly considered a date, though."_ She said, " _I didn't think I was the center of any gossip this year either. Pity."_

" _It's hardly bad gossip though. I mean, have you seen Light? He's one of the best people for people to think you date!"_

" _I'm not huge on the whole 'dating thing', academics and work have and always will be a priority."_

" _Aww! Come on, you're such a stick in the mud!"_

" _Hardly."_

* * *

A week later, at the Judo competition, she did exactly what she said she'd do. Destroy Daiku's Judo team.

She accepted the trophy for her school graciously.

Really, she expected more from a private academy like them. It was almost too easy. Of course, she couldn't have done it without her team. (Well, it's kind of debatable.)

* * *

It's been three weeks since she brought her school another Judo trophy.

Two weeks since the nation wide exam.

The birds were chirping as a trained passed in the background. Her classmates were chatting as they left the building. Almost every classroom had their windows open, allowing the cool breeze from outside to come in. School just ended, but Takada was taking her time for once. She didn't work today, and club was canceled due to the club sponsor being sick.

As she slung her back over her shoulder, she couldn't help but look outside the classroom windows. Stuck in a trance, almost. If she could stay in a state like this forever...she wouldn't mind.

" _Kiyo-senpai! Are you coming? Everyone in Judo want's to get dinner together!"_ One of her club mates nearly yelled, running into her classroom. " _O-of course, if you're not working!"_

She raised her eyebrows, but gave a soft smiled like she was supposed to. " _I actually have the day off, where are we eating?"_

* * *

" _Yagami-san! Are you going to cram school tonight?"_

" _Yes, I am."_ Light said, putting his belongings in her bag as he started getting ready to leave, " _Why?"_

" _I was wondering why you went to cram school-You're one of Japan's smartest students. I don't get how it benefits you."_

Light was surprised by the question. In reality, he went because he parents are paying for it and he likes the excuse of getting out of social gatherings by saying he has cram school. But that's not the answer he gives. " _I'm Japan's best because I study. If I just stopped then I would easily fall behind."_

" _Psh, sure."_

Light left school feeling awfully tired. Awfully _bored._

* * *

It's been a month since Takada went to dinner with her Judo club. Four weeks since L has looked at Takada's file, two days since Takada set something on fire, an hour since Naomi has found another lead on B.B. and five seconds since Light picked up the death note.

* * *

A laptop screen illuminated a dark room, a man hunched down in front of it quickly scrolling through information.

Kiyomi Takada. The girl who gave Naomi information about the L.A. case, as well as the girl whose host families father was victim of the murders. She's exceedingly smart, top grades, already working, and leader of her school's Judo club.

L is curious of what Kiyomi will do with her intelligence. He certainly hopes she doesn't stick with Sakura TV, it would be a waste. He hums against his thumb and goes back to his current case. If her father died when she was younger, then she would have no doubt been sent to Wammy's. Though it is a morbid thing to think about.

* * *

The nation wide results came in today, and Light hadn't been that anxious to see his results. He knew he'd get on the top of the list once again.

Takada on the other hand, couldn't help but feel like her heart was going to beat of her chest when her teacher came into the classroom. The nation wide exam costs money, and she could never will herself to pay until her senior year. A smile was one her teacher's face, and she never thought she'd see the older man so happy.

" _For the first time in our school's history, we have a student make the top five."_ Her classmates were already whispering. " _It's no other then Takada Kiyomi."_ He said. All her classmates waited on edge for her exact placement.

" _What did I place sir?"_ She asks, feeling all the eyes on her.

" _Number two."_

Her class all stood up, yelling and cheering for Takada. " _You showed those rich kids that private schools and cram schools mean nothing!"_ One said, " _Proof that money can't buy you everything! Go Takada!"_ Another roared.

Takada didn't realize she was laughing, and she didn't realize she started crying either.

Deep down, she guesses she was doubting herself. But this is proof that she hadn't been wasting her time. The original Takada, the one who supported Light, didn't make it on the list. But this version had. And she did it on her own.

* * *

" _Takada!_

" _Mhm-!"_ Takada was caught mid bite of lunch, she almost choked at how loud her classmate was. She quickly collected herself and put down her chopsticks. "Ah-What is it, Yuri-chan?"

" _Have you heard about all the criminals dying recently? Like almost fifty in a week! It's crazy."_

" _...Yes, I have. Not the best way to start a conversation, though."_

" _I want to know what you think about it, duh."_

Takada paused, wiping any crumbs of her face before she answered. " _I think it's the beginning of something awful."_ She closed her bento box and looked back at her classmate. " _What do you think, Yuri-chan?"_

" _Ahh, really? I expected you to be all for the criminals dying! After your trip to L.A. and everything. Well, I think it's great! Can you imagine a world with no criminals? Maybe god is watching over us after all!"_

" _The world isn't all black and white. Many criminals are framed, wrongful put in jail, racially profiled, mentally ill, just killing them off as if they're nothing but animals...I refuse to believe this is an act of a god."_

" _Wow...Have you thought about this a lot?"_

" _I keep up with the news."_

* * *

" _Hey Light, don't you know the girl who got second place?"_ Sayu asked at dinner. " _I know I'm late at looking at the paper you gave mom, but I think you went to karaoke with a Kiyomi or something before."_

Light heard Ryuk chuckle behind him, but he payed no mind. " _Really Sayu, you remember that?"_ He asked with a small laugh. " _It might be her. She never actually told me her real name. Only her nickname, Kiyo"_

" _Kiyomi could totally be her full name! She already sounds so cool and mysterious!"_ She beams in her seat. Her mom chuckles while her dad raises an eyebrow.

" _Are you trying to play matchmaker for your brother?"_ Mr. Yagami asks.

"... _Maybe."_

" _Sayu!"_ Ms. Yagami scolds light heartedly, " _That's my job."_

After dinner, Light looks at the nationwide exam scores again in his room. Takada Kiyomi's name is right below his, only three points off. He quickly googles her name, and a picture of the girl he talked to at karaoke turned up.

He skimmed a few local news stories, mostly related to Judo competitions. He raised an eyebrow, she apparently was fairly popular in the Judo community. Not only that, but apparently she works at Sakura TV? He honestly didn't expect that.

He didn't expect to see her name in a L.A. newspaper from last year either. " _The Boulevard family has come across a horrible tragedy, as Jonathan Boulevard was murdered in his own home. An exchange student from Japan, Kiyomi Takada, who had been staying with the family was the one who first found the body. She intends on staying in America for the remaining portion of her program, regardless of the tragedy."_

Light leaned back in his seat, taking in the information. For once, he found someone who was actually interesting. What made her think he was boring though? He'd actually like to hear more about her from _her,_ and not from news articles.

She might be a help in the future as well, but that's not what he wants to focus on. His eyes look at the picture of her holding a Judo trophy, her smile wide and prideful as she stands with her teammates. " _I wonder if you still will find me 'boring' soon."_ He mutters to himself. " _Ryuk, can you stop laughing?"_

" _This keeps getting more and more interesting."_ The shinigami says.

Light rolls his eyes at the vague statement. He flips open the death note and begins writing.

* * *

 **Please leave a review! It motivates me to keep writing, and I love listening to what everyone is thinking so far!**

 **I also made a small playlist for this story on playmoss, (a free version of 8tracks basically), it's called Self-Immolation and my username is Zenyatta. It's kind of a mess but hey, a lot of the songs remind me of Kiyomi.**


	8. Warnings, Prospective

**_( ꒪_** ** _Д꒪_** ** _)ノ_** ** _The pace of this is a little slower than past chapters. Instead of getting through a week or years this chapter is focusing on four days._**

 ** _A lot more dialog than normal. Just for this chapter_**

 **DarkDust27: That does sound pretty cool tbh**

 **makesomehassel: (∗´꒳** **`)(∗´꒳** **`)(∗´꒳** **`)(∗´꒳** **`)**

 **DeceivingAura: Your review made me cry jfc omg. Thank you so much? I honestly don't know what else to say**

 **Pineapple-Lady-sama: There prob will be some one sided attraction but romance? Yeah, prob not. Like you said.**

* * *

The overgrown leafage peaks through one of the broken windows of the abandoned building that Takada frequently finds herself in after a stressful day. Rarely, however, does she come to the building when the sun is still out. It's just not as satisfying seeing a fire without the moon in the sky.

Although, the building is still a nice place to think. The atmosphere is nice, from the faint smell of ash lingering in the air, to the past memories she's created for herself here since middle school. Much to her dismay, she hears someone else in another room of the building. She knew that she's not the only one to come here, but it's always a rare sight. She just hopes it's not a little kid.

As she get's closer to the room, she hears the voice more clearly. Sadly, by the time she realizes it, it's a tad to late to turn back. It's Light, crouched down on the floor seemingly pouring certain chemical ingredients together. Takada remembers that he came here with the intent of creating a fuse in his desk to catch on fire in case anyone finds his death note.

" _Ryuk, why'd you stop talking all of a sudden?"_ She hears him ask, apparently he hasn't noticed her yet. She raises an eyebrow and with a slight smirk, she leans on the door frame of the room.

" _Ryuk? Is someone else here too?"_ She asks, amused she caught the genius off guard. Already making mistakes? A pity. " _It's almost like a party already."_

Light looks up at Takada, surprised and embarrassed. " _Kiyo? What are you doing here?"_

" _I could ask you the same thing, but I don't think I really care."_ She says, looking at the line of chemical bottles. " _You should be wearing gloves if you want to be playing with chemicals like that, Light."_

He narrows his eyes, and suddenly Takada realises that she's barely even talking to Light now. His eyes felt like they were screaming Kira. She raises her hands up with a sigh. " _Calm down, no need to look like you're going to kill me. I told you, I don't care why you're here. I am serious about the gloves though. If someone see's a chemical burn on your hands they're the ones going to ask questions."_ She says, taking off her gloves as she spoke. They were a bit big on her anyways, and would probably fit Light. " _Here, take mine."_

She held the gloves in her hand, however he makes no move to get up and take them. " _What happened to the Light that seemingly wanted to talk to me so badly before?"_ She mutters. " _Come on. Take them. I'm being nice."_

With a what seems like a roll of the eyes, he gets up and takes them. " _There, was that so bad?"_ She says.

She catches him glancing at her hands, but doesn't say anything. The burns on her hands still lingered from when she was younger and just experimenting with fire. " _What? Cat caught your tongue?"_

" _Ah-Sorry. Thank you for the gloves, Kiyo-san."_ He says, faking innocence. She looks at him with a slight frown and irritation, but doesn't say anything else. As he puts them on, Takada could tell he was hesitating to go back to his project.

" _I'm not going to tell anyone what I saw, Light."_ She says suddenly, rolling her eyes " _I wouldn't get anything out of it. 'Oh, Light Yagami was at an abandoned building playing with chems last night'. That's just sounds ridiculous. You can keep the gloves. Just don't come back here, got it?"_

He looks at her, trying to figure out what she was getting out of this. " _What are_ _ **you**_ _doing here, Takada?"_

She was about to turn around and leave, but she let out a sigh once again and looked at him over her shoulder. "Nothing important to you."

" _Are you sure it has nothing to do with the burns on your hands?"_

" _You're Japan's best for a reason? Aren't you? Just asking me obvious questions should be beneath you."_ She says as if she's talking to a little kid. With that, she does leave. Leaving Light with her gloves and a sudden amount of anger flowing through his veins.

He didn't want to have Takada as a threat, but the possibility of that is growing. How dare she talk to him like she was better then him. Now she must be suspicious of him. No one thought him to be the type to have secrets in general. He's thought to be open, honest, trust worthy.

She already found him out, and she wasn't even trying.

It's irritated him.

But he can't let it get to him, he's doing what he's doing to cleanse the world. He's doing what everyone else is too scared to admit to want. Maybe he'll have Takada on his side. Could he convince her? The risk of anyone knowing is a risk to big to take. He has to know for sure she won't betray him.

" _Heh, Light. That girl's pretty interesting, isn't she?"_ The shinigami suddenly said, pulling Light from his inner monologue. " _Maybe she should have picked up the notebook instead of you, Hyuk, hyuk"_ The shinigami suddenly started laughing.

Light looked at the doorway she was at before she left.

He can't kill her. He's only going to kill criminals, he reminds himself. No matter how frustrated he is that Takada openly teases and talks down to him, she isn't trying to ruin his plans, not yet. Of course, if he isn't careful enough, the possibility of him killing anyone that could ruin is plan is there. Killing anyone who isn't a criminal is the last resort.

The option of her being useful is still there.

In the future, the idea of needing a human ally is a possibility. Right now though it would just be a liability.

" _Besides, it's not like she know's why I'm here anyways."_ He mutters to himself, " _I'm just someone 'playing with chems' as she said."_ He nearly snorted when he said it, picturing how she looked as she was talking earlier.

He quickly shakes his head and goes back to his project. No need for another distraction.

* * *

Two days later, Takada is once again at Mido's apartment. He's cooking dinner for her after and refusing to take here up on her offer of helping. She doesn't put up much of a fight, fine with lying on the couch while he cooks.

She is tired after work and school, after all. " _Do you mind if I turn on the TV?"_ She asks him, already reaching for the remote before he says yes.

When she turns it on it's already defaulted onto Sakura TV, which she does comment on. " _Don't tell me you actually watch this."_ She says, slightly annoyed. " _It's not like it's an actual news channel."_

" _I know, do you think I'm stupid?"_ He says, " _I just keep it on for background noise."_

She mutters something under her breath before the channel suddenly changes without her doing it. She raises an eyebrow, but then blinks, realizing what's happening.

A man with long black hair to his shoulders and a name tag saying 'Lind L Tailor' is what replaced Sakura TV. She stretches a bit and sits up, calling to Mido to come out into the living room.

When Mido glances at the screen, he looks taken aback. " _This feels like it's out of some crime novel or something."_

" _Right? Talk about dramatic."_ She mumbles.

Shortly after Linds little speech, he dies of a heart attack, and the iconic letter 'L' famously tied to the detective is shown. However, before Mido and Takada could listen she quickly furrows her eyebrows.

" _Mido..."_

" _Hm?"_

" _I think I smell burning."_ His eyes widen almost comically as he shoots back into the kitchen. With a sigh Takada also stands up, going to open the windows of the apartment to try and get the smoke out.

So much for watching L taunt Light on TV. It doesn't really matter anyways, she already knows what he's going to say.

* * *

Takada's time at work hasn't gone unnoticed by her teachers at school, much to her dismay.

" _Kiyomi, all the staff here is well aware of your father's untimely death."_ Her homeroom teacher said after class on Friday. All her classmates have already left. " _I'm glad that you're keeping busy and your grades are staying up, however I can't turn a blind eye to your situation."_

" _What do you mean sir?"_

" _You took care of your father's funeral and selling your house on your own, correct?_

" _Correct"_

" _Are you staying with any relatives?"_

Lying would be pointless, her teacher could easily go into her files and know. " _I've never met anyone in my family. It was just me and my dad."_

" _Look at it from my perspective, a seventeen year old girl, working at Sakura TV, living alone in Tokyo with no adult supervision, I don't even know how you were able to get written approval to rent your apartment."_

He floods her with questions, about her health, work, stress, ect.

" _Are you okay, Takada?"_

She's gotten that question before, obviously with not much emotion behind it compared to her teacher right now, but she prepared before to answer stuff like this. She smiles and tucks some of her hair behind her ear.

" _I'm a tad stressed, but that's normal. I'm fine."_ She answers smoothly. Her teacher nods.

" _If you ever need anything, the staff here is always ready to help."_

" _Of course."_

* * *

Kiyomi doesn't regret anything she's done in the past. She doesn't regret lying to her dad, she doesn't regret bullying her ex boyfriend before she went overseas, and she doesn't regret not getting involved in the BB case.

In some ways, she doesn't care.

But in other ways, she cares a lot.

It's a difficult thing to balance.

She knows deep down, that she is in all ways possible, completely fucked. Mentally and physically. Her life after the Kira case will be dysfunctional, she probably will never be able to talk about her feelings honestly, she'll always lie as a way to protect herself, and she doubt that she'll ever be capable of feeling regret.

She doesn't want to be an unfeeling monster, but she knows that no one can wear a mask forever. Sometimes you have to take it off and accept the skin that you're in. The problem is that she doesn't even know that once she takes off her mask, that she'll even recognize the skin she's in.

Underneath all the questionable things she's done, all the pressure she puts on herself, who is she? What is her actual personality?

She decides that she'd think about it when the time comes.

If it ever does.

* * *

" _Kiyomi-san!"_

Takada turned around, a pile of papers occupying her hands. She quickly blinked and focused on the person now talking to her. At first it sounded like a ringing noise, she was on autopilot today at work. Doing everything like usual but slightly detached.

" _Hm, say that again Ryoku-kun?"_ She said.

" _I said you and Nana are being considered for a promotion. You'll be doing the night news segments. All the boring stuff-but it's the best way to start out!"_

" _By boring stuff you mean crime reports and recent world news?"_

" _Yeah! Between you and me, you got it in the bag! Nana only got this far because of her looks."_

" _-And her college degree, years of experience, and general positive personality."_ Takada finished for him with the roll of her eyes. She's not one to dismiss another woman's accomplishments. " _I'm only in high school. If they pick me they'd be taking a huge risk."_

Her co-worker paused. "... _You're in highschool?"_

" _Yes. I'm in my final year."_

" _How old are you?!"_

" _I'm seventeen."_

" _...oh."_

" _Yes. 'Oh' is probably the best way to respond."_

* * *

Naomi Misora is content to where her actions have lead her in life. Sometimes she misses the FBI, her old motorcycle, and even her old nickname, Naomi Massacre. However, the ability to work under L has proven to be...amazing.

That's the only way to describe it.

Essentially, she's her own boss. She has more freedom, she feels more in tune with herself, and most importantly, alive.

It's a nice feeling.

She intends to stay this way for a while, even when she's done working with L.

" _L, I've found him."_

" _What is your next plan of action, Misora?"_

" _To arrest him, preferably."_

* * *

 **Please leave a review! They really motivate me to update. Even if its just a 'Hey I really liked x part", "Please update soon!" or, "I didn't like x part" It really makes me excited to post the next chapter. Feedback feeds the author. ⌒°(❛ᴗ❛)°⌒**


	9. Symbols, Puzzles

**MAN DO THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS CHAPTER. I was hyped to updated so soon bc of the reviews.** **(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

 _DeceivingAura : AAA im actually glad you think she's kinda scary. She's not the most stable and isn't really,,,, attached to this world? if that's the best way to say it. All her friendships have been bc she felt like she *had* to have friends too look normal. She only talks to people if she needs something out of them. She has only ever used people. So I kind of want readers to be put off by her outlook. ( ƅ°ਉ°)ƅ_

 _Lifesjustalaugh: Your question is actually answered near the end of this chapter! ヽ(〃･ω･)ﾉ ily_

 _night-phoenix546: u got ur wish bb ∠꒰'౪'꒱✧_

 _DarkDust27: ꒰๑ ᷄ω ᷅꒱ frustrated Light is best Light_

 _turtlehoffmann2251: Welcome back! I'm glad you like it so far (*^o^)人(^o^*)_

 _Eovin: "ψ(｀∇´)ψ BB is gonna be a special side dish in this ahhah. I was so worried that I wasn't writing Light right, so I'm glad that you like him. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what he should say and react to. I'm glad that you like the story so far!_

* * *

Coming home after work to a box at her front door was unexpected. It had no identification of where it came from or who it came from, which made Takada hesitant to bring it in. However, she was tired and could honestly care less. With a sigh, assuming it's a gift from a 'secret admirer' she carries it into her apartment, placing it on her kitchen counter before heading to the fridge to grab a drink.

She grabs a bottle of water and glances at the box. She's never recieved anything to this apartment. She's gotten flowers placed on her desk at school before, even some smarter admirers have given her tea. The only person who knows she lives in this complex is Mido. Unless someone does some investigating.

She rolled her eyes at her unneeded paranoia. It's not _too_ heavy, but it's not light either. With a frown, she grabs a pair of scissors to cut the tap sealing the box. She feels like something is...wrong. When ever she looks at the box she feels uncertain that it was a good idea to bring it in her home.

However, she chalks it up to her anxiety and pushes away the thought, letting the scissors glide across the tape and letting her open it. Almost immediately she covers her mouth with her hand, backing away from the box.

The scissors she was holding drop to the floor with a 'clank clank'.

Her apartment was covered in a thick blanket of silence as the reality of what was in the box fully sets in. Takada recognizes the smell. Sulfur dioxide, methane, benzene derivatives, hydrocarbons. The smell of death. It a smell that's always hard to describe. It not a smell that immediately flies up your nose when something dies. It's when something has been dead for a while.

She swallows hard, a lump forming in her throat. She blinks hard and forces herself to look at the contents of the box again, to fully become aware of what she had been sent.

A dead cat.

It's tummy it exposed, a thick long cut from the throat all the way to its tail is present. It's main organs are removed. However, it looked as if someone stuffed grass or...

Oh god.

Takada recognizes the smell of the leaves, despite the smell of death that is now taking over her apartment. Someone cut open a cat, removed its organs, and stuffed it with gyokuro leaves.

Gyokuro is the tea Takada usually drinks.

She closes her eyes and bites her lip, looking away from the sight again. It's hard to look

at. Does she call the police? Maybe she should get Mido. Would this bring attention to her? She glances at the box again, but this time she sees a note attached.

Hesitantly, she picks up the note, trying her best not to touch the animal's corpse.

 _"Will you walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly._

 _Oh, how I wish to learn your name. "_

Despite how...unimpressed she is by what it says. (Too dramatic for her tastes. The dead animal gets the point across. Just tell me what you mean and let's get this over with) She remembers that she has to act according to her persona, her act. If she does have a stalker, then if anything she has to keep up her act even more.

Which is why she took a deep breath, and ran over to Mido apartment across the hall, hot tears running down her face.

When Mido opened the door, he was meant with a babbling Kiyomi, crying about being sent a dead cat.

* * *

" _To arrest him, preferably."_ Naomi answered dully.

" _I would prefer you wait, Naomi-san."_ They synthetic voice responded. Only to cause Naomi to raise an eyebrow.

" _Sorry? Can you explain what I was assigned to do again?"_

" _We still don't know why he escaped to Japan, may I remind you. He suddenly ceased all activity in L.A. and went into hiding. If we arrest him now, the chances of him explaining himself are low. I'd rather not take that risk."_

" _He's a killer L. We can't have him out in the world doing as he pleases. This is more than just a game between you and him!"_ She sharply responds.

" _Oh, not at all Misora. This is most definitely a game between me and him. I'm a detective, may I remind you. My reason for taking interest in this is to figure out what he has done, what he's currently doing, and what he plans to do."_ He says. " _We only know the past. There is much more to uncover in this case. You have found him, now keep an eye on him. Of course, if you see him stabbing someone to death, please, step in. However as he has made no violent advances while in Japan, we have no reason to capture him yet."_

" _L."_

" _Yes, Naomi-san?."_

" _I demand a raise"_

* * *

The police could do little to help. Takada kept her persona of 'freaked out and scared highschool student' the entire time while at the station. Mido was there with her, trying to counsel her.

" _What do you mean you can't do anything! You're the police, aren't you?"_ Mido snapped, " _She lives alone and seventeen and received a dead cat on her doorstep. Shouldn't you be able to say, 'we can protect you'?"_

" _We insist that she stays with family and-"_

" _If she had any family, do you think I would be the one yelling at you?!"_

" _M-my apologies...ah, please give me a moment."_

" _Give you a moment? Are you kidding me? I-"_

" _Mido...it's okay..."_ Kiyomi meekly tries to calm her friend down. In all honestly, she kind of finds it funny that he's more upset over this then she is. He turns around and looks at Takada. He gives her an almost pained look.

" _It's not okay. You don't have to be strong right now. You're allowed to cry. I'll take care of this, don't worry."_

Takada forgets that Mido is older than her sometimes. He is in college after all.

Takada plays the part and let's Mido take care of her.

* * *

Takada continues on at work, school, and club. However, now Mido or one of his friends are accompanying her at all times, place to place.

This is when she meets Suguru Shimura and Arayoshi Hatori. Both are future Yotsuda group members.

Suguru is a paranoid senior at Kyodo University. He has an eye for detail, which makes Takada more focused on not making any mistakes around him with her persona. " _You fell in Judo today, right? I can tell by how you're walking"_

Arayoshi graduated from Futatsubashi University last year. He's already engaged to a girl he got pregnate his senior year. He's more protective her Takada then she'd like. " _High School...I remember those days. My advice? Stay away from boys."_

She reminds herself that she just has to play the part. She just has to pretend.

Takada Kiyomi is a kind, but independent high school senior. She doesn't manipulate people or lie. She just has to keep reminding herself that.

* * *

Takada feels an itch in her bones, it's been a while since she last set something on fire.

* * *

" _Did you hear?"_

" _What?"_

" _Kiyo-chan was threatened, apparently she has a stalker."_

The TV station was busy, a celebrity guest was coming in soon, but that didn't stop the tired interns and sound tech people from talking. It was later in the day and the sun was just setting, many people were already done trying to act professional.

" _You don't think she'll quit work or anything, right?"_

" _Nah, I think the boss is going to definitely promote her now."_

" _Eh? I don't follow what you mean."_

" _If she feels safe here, then why would she quit? Right now is the best time to offer her a promotion to give her that...stability or something."_

" _So he's going to take advantage of her current state to almost force her to accept the job?"_

That does sound like something their boss would do. He's kind of a horrible person. It's a running joke around the station that he'd have an intern killed if the ratings got too low.

" _Yeah, kinda fucked up, right?"_

" _She's only in highschool too, now isn't the time to make such big decisions over what she'll be doing for the rest of her life."_

" _Well, she'd have to decide eventually anyways."_

" _Just kinda feel bad for her."_

" _Pft, don't ever tell her that to her face."_

* * *

She was at Suguru's house, eating dinner with him and Mido. She found it hard to focus on the conversation. She was stuck, thinking about the letter that was left with the dead cat.

" _Will you walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly._

 _Oh, how I wish to learn your name. "_

Who is the spider in this case? Does the person who sent this view Takada as the fly? Or was it a joke, because if anyone truly knew the real Kiyomi, the'd call her the spider in an instant.

She remember the original poem well.

The Spider and the Fly poem was meant to be a warning of sorts, not to trust people who use flattery and charm to get what they want, no matter their true intentions. She remembers how back home, her home she had with her father, how her room was at the top of the stairs. The same set of stairs that her father fell down to his untimely death.

" _Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,_

 _For who goes up your winding stair_

 _-can ne'er come down again."_

Takada paused. Was this stalker implying that he...?

No. That's insane.

Well, actually-" _Kiyomi! You haven't eaten at all. Take a bite, I promise my cooking is just as good as Midos."_ Suguru interrupted.

" _Well, to say that your cooking is as good as mine...it's stretching the truth."_

Takada laughed, as she was supposed to.

She'll think about this at a more appropriate time.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, she dreams of Sonia. This time, the room has been resorted to when Sonia first moved into the room. Originally it was a study, but once her father left the room was opened up, as thus, Sonia moved in.

In this dream, Takada can't interact with anything. Her hand goes through all the books she tries to pick up, and she can't see herself in the mirrors of the room. She can only see Sonia, alone, sitting on her bed.

She was staring at the wall with the windows open, allowing the curtains to sway with each breeze that passes. The cool autumn air entering without a care. Her face was stained red, her eyelids fluttering closed. She breathed in through her mouth. Tears start to fall down her face.

And that's all Takada's dream is. She watches Sonia cry.

When she awakes, she feels uneasy.

* * *

 **To be selfless.** To step into the Kira case immediately and catch all of Lights screw ups. Catch him before Sakura TV, before Misa can even get involved. The case could be solved in a month, and Light's memories can be erased, leaving him the way he was before Kira. No more people have to die.

 **To be rational.** Stay away from the case. Go to a different college from Light. Cease all communication with people in Japan and go to a college in another country. It's not her problem. Give herself the chance to try to enjoy life. They're going to die anyways, why help?

 **To be human.** Stay in Japan, send in tips but not get directly involved. Be like everyone else. Work at Sakura TV and climb the ranks. Live life like she never knew Kira. It doesn't affect her, she shouldn't have to bother.

 **To be Kiyomi Takada.** Find her stalker, find Kira and the 2nd Kira, give them the death sentence. Let them get what they deserve. Take off the mask and still have people terrified of what's underneath.

Sitting alone in her apartment with a glass of wine, Kiyomi decides for final time, that she will be Kiyomi Takada.

* * *

Kiyomi was given the promotion at work. She plans on going To-Ho still. She has worked under more pressure before.

* * *

Kiyomi calls Naomi Misora, only to find the number she was given in L.A. is now out of service.

* * *

Kiyomi got into contact with the local police department about her stalker. She doesn't tell them about the correlation with the poem and her father. She decides that she will tell Naomi that, if she can find her in time. But she offers her full help, if needed.

* * *

"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;

The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,

And I've a many curious things to show when you are there."

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,

For who goes up your winding stair

-can ne'er come down again."

* * *

 **Please leave a review! It means a lot and keeps me writing. Even ifs its a small 'update soon' it really makes me want to write more. Feedback feeds the author.** **⤴︎ ε=ε=(ง ˃̶͈̀ᗨ˂̶͈́)۶ ⤴︎**


	10. Ignored, Assertive

**Here we go boys.**

 _reula: ✿ ‿ ✿_

 _Eovin: I don't want to spoil anything, but you're not completely wrong. Not completely right either though. ꒰˘̩̩̩⌣˘̩̩̩๑꒱_

 _Fine Specimen Retrieved: Well... she not really scared but more of irritated with death. She herself doesn't mind dying, but only after she achieves her goal of catching Light as kira. So, in someways she's similar to **Mello,** willing to die if it means that the case will go in the direction she wants it too. __〜٩(^▿^)۶〜_

 _makesomehassel : For pairings I don't really know! Takada is really closed off, and relationships are supposed to be a give and take kind of thing. Something big would have to happen to make her okay with being vulnerable in order for any type of romantic subplots to happen, which is hard to see happening. but who knows._

 _Red raspberries : ʚ ⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁) thank u!_

 _DarkDust27: I can't really respond to this ask without spoiling something i have planned, but be ready ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ )_

 _(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)_

 **I respond to the rest of the reviews at the end of the chapter. Thank you everyone who reviewed.**

* * *

" _Heikichi, I haven't seen you in forever. How have you been?"_

Over the past two days, Takada has been thinking more about the 'threat' she received.

' _If L's a genius, then B's an extreme genius. If L's a freak, then B's an extreme freak_ ' She remembers that exact sentence from the L.A. BB murder cases book. It's more than likely that BB is her stalker.

It makes sense, she was being followed in L.A. That had to be when he first saw her. Instead of doing what she should have done and find him herself, she let him find her unintentionally. By being passive and assuming the story would pass without her, she put herself in danger. Why he's following her is what confuses her. His goal was to surpass L as the world's, 'greatest criminal'. That's why he was killing people, there was no evidence of him killing before he left on his little mission. He only killed to get L's attention and to flaunt that he was better...in a way.

How does Kiyomi fit into this? It makes no sense.

' _Oh how I wish to know your name.'_ What does that even mean? He clearly knows her name if he's seen her. What could be the deeper meaning to this? Or is it more simple than she thinks?

" _Kiyomi, are you okay?"_ Heikichi asked. Takada blinked but then quickly apologized. " _Glad to see you haven't changed. You always zoned out when we were in middle school too."_

Heikichi called her to get coffee together. Heikichi, the judo club leader when she was in middle school. He was the reason she does judo now. His eyes just as bright as when she first met him. Suguru and Mido were hesitant on letting her go, but she quickly reminded them that were not her parents and to stop acting like them. Her little 'outburst' made sense, even though she planned exactly what to say ahead of time.

The stress of being stalked, then having your 'friends' be overly protective, and not having any say in what you're doing allows for more emotional reactions and less refined ways of saying what you mean.

So here she is. Getting coffee with a childhood friend. " _I've missed it though. You always seemed to be thinking about so much. When we first started practice I would see you watch us with everyone else, but you always seemed like you were in your own fantasy world."_

" _Fantasy world...? I guess you could call it that"_ She said, feigning a smile. " _How have you been?"_

" _Me...hah...well, I've been fine, if you could call it that. I actually called you because I was lonely."_

" _Lonely?"_

He explains that after middle school, him and his family went to France. He had a hard time learning the language and didn't have many friends. His main way of socializing was judo and they didn't have that for students in France.

He came back to Japan for college, but still found it hard to make friends again. He wanted to reach out to people he knew when he was younger in an attempt to get back to his normal, happy self.

Takada doesn't know if her paranoia right now, is justified.

Takada doesn't trust her childhood friend.

" _I'm sorry, I have to go."_

He widened his eyes in surprise, " _What?"_ But Takada was already getting up.

" _Right now. I have to leave. Don't contact me ever again. For your own safety. Listen to me_ _Heikichi, if you care about your safety, you need to get out of Japan. As soon as you can."_

" _Kiyomi, what are you talking about?"_

But Takada already left.

* * *

Takada attempts to call Naomi again, to no avail.

* * *

Takada hears about the bus jacking that resulted in only the criminal dying. Hit by a car after having a hallucination, they said.

Only Takada knows that it's just Kira treating people like some kind of... science experiment.

* * *

When Takada gets home, she starts to look into her family's confrontations with the law. She's never bothered before, and her father rarely ever spoke of family. However, on the off chance that BB knows something about her that she doesn't know, she needs to at least have some sort of idea.

Because she didn't plan for this. She planned on dealing with Kira. This just makes everything more _difficult._ It's infuriating.

* * *

" _Okay and let me just get some powder and...perfect!"_

Kiyomi will be on TV tonight. Logically, if she had a stalker this would be the worst thing to do. But Takada's life cannot stop because of one person.

" _Thank you."_ Takada said, then standing up. Her makeup done, outfit modest, and smile fake as ever.

* * *

The next line of the poem, Spider and the Fly has been in Kiyomi's head. Once she got home, however, she could actually think.

" _I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;_

 _Will you rest upon my little bed?"_

If her stalker did kill her father, like she thought, it would mean he was in the house, and more importantly he could have seen her room. Before she went off to L.A. she burned most of the notes she took on her dreams. If he did get into her room, there would be little suspicious evidence.

Everything she left could just be seen as little 'pick me ups' for a kid with anxiety. Reminders that she can do this and not to forget her goal. She needs to stay focused on the Kira case but BB is making it difficult. She takes a deep breath and takes out her notebook. She took the day off of work.

At the top of the page she wrote BB. Then, everything she knew about him.

 _Obsessive, unstable, unbelievable smart. Self righteous, disconnected. A freak._

 _Mourning. With a question mark._

It was said that it was after A committed suicide did BB start his plan of being the best criminal. However, it wasn't actually said that he was friends with A or if he ever...talked to them.

Kiyomi begins to doubt that he was actually saddened by A's death, or just saw it as a way to help justify his hatred of L.

She chewed the back of her pencil and thought about it more. She never bothered to try and figure out BB because she assumed he'd be dead by now due to Kira.

She sighed.

What does BB want? He doesn't kill because he likes it or he's 'insane' (She isn't fond of that word), he killed his victims because they were going to die anyways. He's never threatened or used scare tactics before, at least they haven't been recorded.

Then it hit her.

" _He's trying to figure out what kind of spider I am."_

* * *

Kiyomi scores best in her school again. None of her teachers have talked to her since her last confrontation.

* * *

Mido, Suguru and Arayoshi give Takada more space after her instances that's she's fine. She still calls one of them at least everyday to make sure that she gets home safe.

* * *

She tries to call Naomi again. No answer.

* * *

She pulls some strings, gets into contact with police over in L.A. More connections made.

* * *

She calls Raye Pender.

All possible ways of getting in contact with Naomi have been destroyed, disconnected, or unavailable.

* * *

Takada was done. She couldn't get in contact with Naomi, so she's going to try and alternative route to try and get some sort of detective or cop to help her. She also couldn't risk slipping up and have people find out that she knows more then she lets on. She couldn't risk BB figuring her out.

So, she found Matsuda

He was one of the police officers at the station when she first received the threat. He was mostly off to the side, not quite sure what to do since the other officers where trying their best to take care of the situation and calm Mido down. When she went the police station it was clear that he was already on a case, however it looked as if they where short staffed.

She quickly cornered him. Saying something along the lines of, " _Please, I need to talk to a police officer one on one."_

He awkwardly looked around to other police officers. Aizawa, she quickly recognized, put his hand on his shoulder. " _You can take care of this, you know how to take a report, don't you?"_

It was clear Matsuda was uncomfortable, but he still smiled at Takada and lead her to an interrogation room.

" _I'm being stalked by a serial killer."_ She quickly started off. Matsuda paused, waiting to see if she was joking. She was serious.

" _Did you...already file a report?"_ He asked slowly, shocked at how calm she is.

" _Other then the first time I was here with my friend, no. I thought it was best to keep my knowledge of who it is on the down low."_

 _"U-understandable."_ He said, " _We can-"_

" _No need. I want to you give someone a message for me."_

" _Excuse me?"_

She sighed and bite her tongue for a moment. " _I'm only telling you this because you're working on the Kira task force and are in contact with L."_ She said, ignoring the look of shock the Matsuda had. " _The next time L contacts the task force, I need you to mention me. Something like, 'A girl name in by the name of Kiyomi Takada. She believe that the man behind the killings in L.A. a little under a year ago is stalking her. She wanted me to tell you this information in hopes that you contact her. She has information about the Kira case as well as a man named BB."_

" _It's in_ _ **L'**_ _s best interest."_ Kiyomi goes on to say. " _It must be a thorn in his side to have to deal with this case alongside the Kira investigation. I'd helping things get a move on by giving over the information directly to him."_ Takada leaned forward in her chair, looking Matsuda in his eyes. " _I need you to do this, Matsuda. I'm in danger. You're a good cop, aren't you? You're supposed to help people like me."_ Her voice sounded strained, but her eye contact remained strong. " _You're the only person I've told this too. I'm trusting you. Please."_

Matsuda couldn't break Takada stare.

 _"I'm only_ _seventeen. If you don't deliver this message for me...I have no doubt that my stalker will kill me. I'm too young to die, I have barely even done anything with my life yet. Give me at least a chance of living."_

"... _I'll do what I can, Miss Takada."_

Takada smiled.

* * *

Aizawa was watching Matsuda and Takada from the two way mirror in the interrogation room. Matsuda was still new and Aizawa was making sure that he filed what ever report Takada needed correctly.

He was shocked, and pretty pissed off. A seventeen year old girl was making demands for a police officer to give a message to L. He was already mad that she somehow figured out that Matsuda was on the Kira task force. Was she the leek that L mentioned earlier?

Aizawa was going to mention this girl the next time L contacts the force. With much less sympathy than Matsuda.

* * *

Kiyomi considers herself an actress of sorts now. It sounds much better than a liar. She's about to put all of her skills, everything she's learned, to the ultimate test. Fooling the world's greatest detective, his backup, and Kira, at the same time.

She was fairly confidence that BB was not going to kill her, however she had to convince Matsuda to feel bad for her, to sympathize with her. She was not nearly as scared as she played herself off to be. She also sure that L was already aware of her. However, she needed to add the extra...push. She had to be more active in this and less passive then she really is.

* * *

Two days later, Takada receives a phone call from Naomi.

* * *

 **Arashi - IV of VI: ur cool (°◡° ).:｡**

 **Lizzy B: She's definatly one of the more ignored characters, I'm glad you like her!**

 **Maester Ta (๑°꒵°๑)･***

 **kaitlin2515: i adore u omg( ˊᵕˋ ) .°⑅**


	11. Colloguy, Forward

**Is anyone following the lowlightprime case on tumblr? So many clues, so little time.**

 **In this chapter, Kiyomi talks to Naomi, responds to BB, and meets L.**

RimK10 : **I'm glad you like the story so far!**

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Red raspberries **: My dude... (•ө•)**

Lifesjustalaugh **ฅ ̳͒•ˑ̫• ̳͒ฅ**

Lizzy B **: (๑′ᴗ‵๑)**

* * *

" _Crime rates are rapidly shrinking at a new rate. The kidnapped girls in Kamakura have been found in light of their kidnapper dying of a heart attack. They were reunited with their families as of this morning."_ Takada read off the teleprompter. " _Many say it's as if it was a" -_ work of god. Takada's eyes narrowed at her script, and quickly reworded it, "- _Many say it was a miracle."_

Her co-anchor then took over, " _The mysterious disappearances in Takayama have also stopped."_ She said, " _It's amazing, isn't it Kiyomi-san?"_

Takada smiled, " _Yes, it's nice too see that even horrible things can come to an end"_ Then she went on, " _As everything does."_

* * *

" _Kiyo-chan! Let's go out for drinks. Today was so tiring!"_ Her co-anchor, Nana, asked as they walked off set. Kiyomi forced a smile.

" _I'm only seventeen, Nana."_

" _Ehh? Who cares? Let's drink at my place if you don't want to be caught then! You're basically an adult anyways."_

Kiyomi chuckled as she put on her jacket. " _I'm afraid I'm already busy after work."_

" _Ah, does Kiyo-chan have a date for once?"_ Nana asked with surprise, but then went back to her smile.

" _I guess you could call it that."_

* * *

Looking into the mirror in Sakura's TV bathroom, she struggled to meet her own eyes. Maybe she used up all the love she had in her other life.

* * *

" _Naomi, thank you for calling me back!"_

They sit at a cafe together, Kiyomi just left Judo practice and is still covered in a thin layer of sweat. Naomi didn't mind.

" _I want to apologize, I heard you had trouble getting in contact with me."_

" _You wouldn't believe."_

Naomi leaned forward in her seat, " _I would"_

The conversation went from there. Naomi and Kiyomi filling each other in, swapping theories and notes. Kiyomi asked for water after her second cup of tea. Naomi kept the coffee coming. Eventually, Naomi asked Kiyomi why she would think L would want to listen to her.

" _Because he has no choice. If he denies me now, it will only cause for more trouble."_ She says. " _And seeing how the world's 'greatest' detective still hasn't caught Kira, I don't think he's in a position to turn any help down. If anything, he's proving to just be a disappointment."_

Naomi widened her eyes while Kiyomi continued talking, " _I thought a detective as good as him would finish a case this no problem, but I suppose that titles really are meaningless."_

Kiyomi didn't really think he was a disappointment, but from what she's learned, it's easier to get a real answer the more aggressive you are when it comes to people who are childish, like L.

" _What do you think of Kira, Kiyomi?"_

" _I think Kira is childish. There is no such thing as 'good' and 'bad'. To just label someone as a criminal and throw them away is childish."_ Kiyomi says. " _But that's the short version of my opinion, I'm sure you don't want to hear a huge monologue."_

Naomi took a sip of her coffee. " _You've grown a lot from when I saw you in L.A."_

" _I just voice what I think more."_

* * *

When Kiyomi goes home, she finds a note attached to her door with a match stick attached. She scowled at the sight and sntachede it off her door before going inside. As she takes off her jacket, she reads the note quickly.

" _for I've often heard it said,_

 _They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed."_

" _Perhaps you'll find it wise to respond, sooner than later"_

Kiyomi sighs. She's too tired for this. She wouldn't think Beyond would hurt anyone she knows. If he does, it would do little to affect her anyways.

She has no family, and no real friends. Unless you count Mido, however recently she has been distancing herself from him. She needs to remember that friends are a liability.

* * *

Before she goes to school the next morning, she places a note on her door, the same place where the last one was placed.

"" _I am nobody:_

 _A red sinking autumn sun_

 _Took my name away."_

It was to test what BB exactly knew about her, as well as do as he asked. A response. She kept with the theme as well, except she's going with Haikus by Richard Wright.

She locks her door behind her, and goes to school.

* * *

After school and Judo, Kiyomi arrives at Sakura TV and gets to work.

" _As some may have heard earlier today, roughly 1500 Kira investigators are arriving in Japan to help aid the Japanese police force in the task of catching Kira."_

" _1500? Wow, that's a lot!"_ Kiyomi's co-anchor said.

" _Well, there hasn't been a case like this one before, has there?"_

* * *

" _Ryuzaki, what are you going to do about that girl who asked for your help?"_

" _Hm. I already have an agent I've had working for me get in contact with her. I-"_

Quickly, the hotel room opened, causing the force to swiftly direct their attention to the women now walking in.

" _Kiyomi Takada needs to be on this case."_ She demanded without an introduction.

" _Naomi-san. I'm glad to see you still pick locks instead of knocking."_ L muttered before taking another bite of his cake. " _I thought you'd suggest that. She is quiet smart, isn't she? However she is a Kira suspect-"_

" _No, she isn't. She doesn't match the schedule that Kira has nor does she have access to police files like the Yagami and Kitamura families. I know the idea of Kiyomi being Kira is interesting, but she is not in a spot to where we can ignore her. Either you invite her, or I will."_

L chewed his lip. After working with Naomi, she's been able to figure how childish L really is. And unlike Watari, she calls him out on it.

" _I guess this was the agent you where talking about?"_ Matsuda meekly asked. L quickly shoots him a glare.

L really hates working with other people.

* * *

" _Misa Amane, is it? I'm happy to be able to see you before your interview, I've been a fan of you since your Janurary appearance last year."_ Kiyomi said with a small, modest smile.

Misa giggled before she responded though. " _Ah! You've been a fan of Misa Misa since then? That's so long ago! Misa appreciates your support. You're the late night reporter, right? You're so pretty in person! Let's swap numbers!"_

Misa had an interview at Sakura TV and Kiyomi was lucky enough to catch her before she went on air. Later, after the interview, Misa and Kiyomi talk a bit.

" _As much as Misa loves Tokyo, I don't think I'll ever want to live here!"_ She said. Kiyomi found that interesting. If she remembers right, Misa only moves to Tokyo after she gets her death note. " _Misa only puts up with it because of work."_

Connections, even with someone who wanted you dead in another timeline, are important. It's because of these details.

* * *

Naomi comes to Takada's apartment after work, and discuss anything knew that may have happened involving BB. Naomi makes no mentions of L.

Naomi said that she found that the cat that was sent to Takada was a known stray cat in a neighborhood outside of Tokyo. Takada tells Naomi that she responded to BB with a poem.

Naomi wasn't happy, but understood how BB worked. If ignored, he get's irritated.

Someone as unstable and smart as BB is not someone you want irritated.

" _Tell me next time he sends you anything."_

" _Given that you pick up your phone."_

" _How many times do I have to apologize for that, Takada?"_

" _As many times as it takes to bring back a dead cat."_

" _Watari, please see what university Kiyomi Takada is applied to"_

" _To-ho, it seems."_

" _How convenient."_ The detective responds with the roll of his eyes. Smart teenagers have always been such a pain.

" _Kiyomi, what do you think of Light Yagami?"_ Another cafe, another day of not meeting the task force. Naomi looks at Kiyomi, waiting for an answer.

" _Are you asking me that, or is L?"_ Kiyomi responds. Naomi felt the corner of her lip twitch, but tried to best to hold down a smile. The girl is quick, Naomi thinks.

" _Both."_

" _I met him at the start of our final year at karaoke with friends. Since then all our meetings have been me trying to get him to leave me alone."_

" _A flirt?"_

" _Painfully. He was 'surprised' that I wasn't interested. I think he's just a spoiled brat who thinks way too high of himself. It would make sense if he was Kira, if that's what you're really asking though."_

" _Accusing someone of Kira is not something to be taken lightly."_

" _But he is, isn't he? His schedule matches the time of death for all of Kira's victims, as well as his father working for the police. He'd have no problem accessing police database information. Not only that, but he has too many possible motives."_

" _Motives?"_

" _He's dads a cop, crime rates going up, his own fear, a god complex-anyone that smart almost always has one, but..."_

" _But?"_

" _I think he's just bored."_

* * *

When Kiyomi went to the place that Naomi texted, she assumed it would be another cafe. However, instead she was in front of a hotel that looked as if it costed money just to look at. She let out a breath and shoved her hands in her pocket.

Judo had been canceled today, so for once, Kiyomi isn't a sweaty mess before a meeting.

She was told to ignore the front desk and immediately go to the third floor. When she did as such, Naomi was by the staircase, waiting for her. " _I convinced L to meet with you. Now, he is a tad...eccentric."_

" _I'd only expect as much."_ Kiyomi responds calmly. " _Anything else?"_

Naomi said no as they walked down the hallway together. Kiyomi was about to meet L.

She wished she could be more excited.

L wanted to talk to her privately, ' _to make sure she isn't a threat to the force',_ he told the rest of the team. So now she's sitting in a chair across from L. He's sitting...how he always sits.

" _Takada Kiyomi, seventeen, orphaned, and was accepted with early approval to Toho university on a grant and multiple scholarships."_ He muttered with a thumb to his lower lip. No real praise coming from him.

Kiyomi decided to act a little coy, " _Don't forget I'm an anchor at Sakura TV. Or my other multiple accomplishments."_

L holds back rolling his eyes. " _Also defensive on the mention of being orphaned."_

Kiyomi raised her eyebrows, " _Have you always been bad at reading emotions, or had no one bothered to correct you when you're horribly wrong?"_

" _Oh? If you were not defensive, then what were you?"_

" _What? Really? I was being cute and coy-the normal thing girls are supposed to do when they're supposedly meeting with someone who thinks they're the 'best""_ Kiyomi was slightly let down, expecting this to be a little more...more something. He is supposed to be the best detective in the world, and yet it's no different from when she talked to Light.

Or maybe he's playing her right now. Maybe this was the reaction that he wanted-purposely playing dumb to see what she's like.

However she has multiple different personas she has ready, so even that isn't much of a challenged.

" _Cute and coy...I'll try to remember that. Or instead, I'll remember that you're more of a diva type. Does that sound right, Miss Takada?"_

" _Can we just get to the point? I feel like we got off topic."_

" _Hm. Yes we did."_ He said, " _Tell me everything you know"_

As vague as his demand was, Kiyomi knew what he meant. He wanted to know what she knew about BB first, and then Light.

He, like Naomi, was not fond of her responding to BB. However, she quickly responded that if he maybe got in contact with her sooner, then she might not have.

It was agreed between L and Takada that she'll stop by the task force once a week and lend any possible aid for the case. She'd be picked up by Naomi from her Judo practice and be brought to the current hotel the force would be staying at.

Underwhelming, at the most. But Kiyomi agreed.

" _I'd also like to be paid. Perhaps double the amount I would get for one day at Sakura TV seems reasonable."_ Kiyomi stated, not really asking at all. More of demanding instead, like it was obvious she wouldn't do anything for free.

" _You demand to meet with me, force yourself onto the investigation, and then ask to be paid..."_ L mutters to himself.

" _I like to put myself in positions where I know I'll get what I want."_ She said, " _It could also be a way for you to apologize for not catching BB in L.A. If anything, this whole thing is your fault. If you worked faster, then he would never have started stalking me in the first place."_

L rolled his eyes, clearly not amused by Kiyomi's manipulative ways. " _I'm often told I could be more...polite. You could learn the same."_ He said.

" _Being polite can only get someone so far. So, when is my first paycheck, L?"_

* * *

 **Please leave a review! It's what get's me to keep updating** **｡ﾟ.(* ´◡` 人´◡` *)ﾟ °・**


	12. Friendships, Exasperation

₍₍ **(** **ง** **˙ω˙)** **ว ⁾⁾** **Guess who just wrote this today. I'm hyped to post it now.**

 **I responded to a couple of reviews privately and got some awesome feedback. So, hopefully this chapter will be better at showing more of Kiyomi's weaknesses.**

 **ALSO. One last thing. Would anyone be interested in being a beta reader for me? You'd get the chapter a week earlier then when it would be posted, and all you'd have to do if point out my typos and help me out with character growth opportunities. (mostly with trying to express Kiyomi's growth a bit better. I'm bad at writing happy scenarios and really want to get better at it.) Please shoot me a message if you're up to it!**

* * *

It's colder out now. There's supposed to be snow in the upcoming week, or at least, that's what Kiyomi has heard. Even though it's January, the cold weather seems not keen on leaving. Currently in the safety of a cocoon of blankets on her bed, Kiyomi is frantically trying to finish another paper for To-Ho. Now being apart of the Kira investigation as well as dealing with BB has left her little time to focus on school work. Times like these are when she's reminded that she is not like L, BB, or Light.

She has to work harder than they do. She's by no means _stupid,_ but she isn't a natural genius. So, here she is. Still stuck on her thesis statement.

She sighs and glances at the clock. It's still dark out, early in the morning. The moon taunts her, reminding her that she can only deal with so many all nighters before it just makes her anxiety unmanageable.

Another chore. Sleep.

Not getting enough of it makes everything worse, anxiety, paranoia, and even her memory. But sleeping leaves her vulnerable. It's been reminding her of things she doesn't want to remember. On the rare nights she can even sleep, that is.

Sometimes she just stares at the ceiling, hoping that she can atleast drift.

She has to keep her grades up though. Preparing for college, work, Judo, Kira, BB, everything is equally important. She gained early acceptance to To-Ho, so her entrance exam is no longer necessary. Instead she has a bunch of papers to write and papers to fill out.

She has to keep her perfect scores for To-Ho and keep her scholarships, she has to keep working to afford food and rent, she has to keep up with Judo to maintain her status as a well rounded, healthy student. She has to catch Kira and BB to be able to find her own peace...or at least, that's what she's telling herself.

 _Almost there,_ she tells herself, _You're so close. You've done so much. Don't ruin it._

She's been so busy, she missed her high school graduation. It wasn't too important. She received her degree in the mail. To-Ho is all that matters.

Her dad would be proud, or at least, that's what she likes to think.

* * *

When she leaves her apartment to go to her Judo dojo to practice, her paper is finished.

There is no note at her door. Maybe BB is still thinking of how to respond? No. He has this all planned out. He's just waiting. Kiyomi sees Mido also leave his apartment at the same time. Kiyomi quickly uses a different stairway to avoid her friend.

Friends. That what her and Mido are, right?

She thinks about that during lunch break at work. She feels comfortable around him. He really cares about her. In ways, he's like an older brother to her. He called his friends to help her to, he made sure she was safe. Hell, he even cooks her dinner almost every night.

She doesn't deserve him.

She takes another bite of her lunch.

" _I'm better off alone"_ She mutters to herself.

* * *

" _I have within my pantry good store of all that's nice;_

 _I'm sure you're very welcome; will you please to take a slice?"_

Two weeks after her first meeting with L, another note was left at her door. So, BB skipped a line from the poem, did he? Maybe he was expecting Kiyomi not to meet with L so quickly. All she could assume that the note he left met, something like, ' _I know you're talking to him now'._

Or maybe he's referencing his eyes? Does he think that she has a hand in this whole kira thing? No, if he's been stalking her then he knows that she's innocent. Then again, there's the chance that he saw her talk to Light at the abandoned warehouse. Did he think that she knew he was already there? Or is this just a, " _I know that he knows that I know that he knows that I know"_ Kind of bullshit?

She chews her at her bottom lip in thought. This is...unbelievably stupid. This whole thing.

She just wants to catch Kira. BB is just...a nuisance.

Before she goes to bed, she leaves another haiku as a response.

" _With a twitching nose_

 _A dog reads a telegram_

 _On a wet tree trunk."_

* * *

" _I would rather you inform the task force of your current plans of communicating with BB before taking action."_

" _Well. Now you know. I'm communicating with BB"_ Kiyomi said with a annoyed twitch of her eyebrow. Being around the task force, all middle aged men, except for Naomi and Matsuda, has been again, annoying. That's all Kiyomi could describe her life as of late. Annoying.

Of course, she knows that L isn't that much older than her, but at times he _acts_ like a middle aged men. Then at other times, like a two year old.

L sighed. " _If Kiyomi-san wants to be apart of the task force, it would be appreciated that she'd use the resources available."_

" _Beyond knows that I'm on the task force, so that changes nothing. He was also in my house, prior to sending the first note. I think he pushed my father down the stairs, not expecting him to be there. I believe he ignored part of the poem not because it isn't relevant, but because he skipped it on purpose. I have no doubt it will come back up, sooner than later. He's stalking me because he knows something about me that I don't."_ Kiyomi quickly says, while the rest of the task force quickly struggled to listen. She chewed on her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling, trying to collect her thoughts, " _Light is hiding something that is obvious. A while back I saw him at an abandoned office building, he was alone and it sounded like he was talking to someone, but when I went into the room he was in, no one was there."_

" _Why didn't you bring up-"_ Aizawa quickly asked.

" _Not done yet."_ She shot the older man a glare. Openly showing her distaste and frustration was an odd thing for her to do. But maybe it's just being around L that has been making her...more hot tempered.

Being treated as a child after everything she's been though. Yeah, that's what's making her snappy. The whole task force feels the need to treat her like their her child. Before, this kind of treatment never really bothered her. It was just a persona. But when she's on a case dealing with life or death, a little _faith_ and respect would make things go smoothly.

Of course, things are never that easy.

" _As I was saying, he has a bunch of random chemicals with him. I didn't really look, but it also seemed like he was building a false bottom to a desk drawer."_ She said. " _However, that's just an idea. I didn't think it was relevant at the time, so I promised him I wouldn't say anything."_

L leaned forward, " _So he trusts you?"_

" _Not at all."_ She said, she could feel the corner of her lips twitch, the threat of a smile forming on her face. " _But he's not suspicious of me either."_

* * *

" _Doesn't it get lonely?"_ A voice with a subtle Russian accent said. Sonia's room was under a thick fog. It was tinted a light pint, and every word either of the two girls said seemed to echo. A faint sound of jazz music was being played from outside, but the window itself was fogged up to the point where it barely looked like a window, instead it resembled an odd painting.

" _What do you mean?"_ Kiyomi asked.

" _Pushing everyone away. Focusing on revenge, acting like you're better than everyone, not even knowing your true self."_

" _It's necessary."_ Kiyomi answered harshly, like it was obvious.

" _For what?"_

" _Survival. I thought you'd understand. You read the series. I die because I trusted people. I was used. I was blinded by love. By confidence. The original Takada had no persona. She really thought she was perfect. But I know I'm flawed."_

" _You're a human being, we all are."_

" _No. Flawed is the wrong term. Sonia,"_ There was a hitch in her voice. " _I'm broken, as stupid as it sounds. I cannot be fixed. I exist solely for Light to fail. That's all I have."_

Silence fell on the room. The jazz music grew louder.

" _When I was younger, I thought we'd get along."_ Takada mumbled.

" _It's always easy to idolize someone you've never talked to."_ Sonia said. " _But you learn a lot when you talk to yourself."_

" _I'm not someone I want to know."_

The music got louder again, a faint static noise growing alongside it. It didn't take long for the static to completely overtake the beautiful sound that was being played.

As the static grew, so did the fog. The pint tint slowly turn greyish while the girls sat in silence.

" _If you didn't kill yourself, would I exist? Would this universe where I suddenly know the original timeline, would it-"_ Kiyomi said in a sudden rush, anxiety and paranoia quickly spiking up.

" _I don't know. I wish I did. I'm tired too, living in this purgatory."_

" _It's scary. Not having the answers."_

" _I guess it's apart of growing up."_

The fog completely overtook the room.

Kiyomi then woke up.

* * *

 **Liliah Dark:(´°ω°`)**

 **BloodyLoved: I don't really know yet. Right now Kiyomi isn't in the best place for romance in her life. Hopefully however, in the next few chapters she grows enough to be in a better position for that to be a possibility. Do you have a preference on who she ends up with? I'm easily swayed LOL**

 **Maester Ta : You have no idea how excited I am to write her 'big reveal' omg.**

 **kaitlin2515:(๑´⍢`๑)**

 **Please leave a review! It leads to me updating the next day like this LMAO** **〆(´ω`●)ゞ**


	13. College, Forlorn

**Well. Here we go.** **φ(ﾟ ωﾟ/）**

 **Also, The Happy Cupcake offered to beta read this chapter. Ya'll should check out their current DN OC story they have going on, " _From A Different View"._ It's a first person told story from the eyes of Director Kitamura's daughter. Defiantly a cute story.**

 **As well as Aqua Lilly, they've been kind enough to help me out a bit with exploring Kyiomi's weaknesses more. At the bottom of the chapter I'm responding to reviews.**

* * *

Kiyomi woke up in a cold sweet. Alone in her apartment, she was wide eyed and met with the inability to breathe. Her body nearly shook each time she inhaled. She couldn't even remember what she was dreaming of that made her react in this way.

She brought her knees to her chest, all the blankets on her bed failing to keep her warm. She swallowed hard, glancing at the clock on her bedside table. It read three a.m. The sight made her sigh.

When she was younger, she would've used this opportunity to sneak out of her father's house and set something on fire. However, the thought of BB watching her has been getting to her more than she'd like to admit. " _This is what he wants."_ She whispered to herself. " _I'm better then him. I'm not a scared little girl. I'm not afraid."_

She curled back up into her blankets and tried to sleep.

Another sleepless night, she figures.

* * *

Nearing five a.m, Kiyomi leaves her bedroom with a sigh. Enough with lying in bed with the hope of eventually falling asleep. It never works.

She goes into the kitchen. She didn't eat dinner last night, and her hunger is getting to her. The old floorboards creak as her bare feet stumble into the kitchen. It's an old apartment, and as every day passes, she realizes how damaged the place is.

At least it's cheap, she thinks.

However, as she turns the corner and stands in the doorway, she squints her eyes at the odd light. The whole apartment was pitch dark; she didn't want to spike her electricity bill due to forgetting to turn of the lights later.

The light was bright in comparison to the rest of her surroundings. It flickered and had a slight hum. It didn't take her long to realise that her refrigerator was open. With a huff, she goes to close it, shivering at the slight chill.

Maybe the hinge on the door is getting loose, she thinks. However, that thought was quickly dismissed in her head as she saw something she didn't remember buying.

A half eaten jar of strawberry jam. The lid was off, discarded lazily next to the jar. She clenched her jaw, trying to contain a sudden wave of fear that rattled through her body.

She takes a breath and leans down, getting to eye level with the jar. She didn't want to pick it up, mostly just because it looked gross. Jam covered the outside of the jar, along with what looked like spit.

Someone probably shoved both of their hands in the jar, licked every last bit of it off their hand, not caring about the mess they were creating.

As she got closer, she saw a piece of paper inside the jar. She scrunched her face up in disgust, the idea of grabbing the sticky piece of paper was just-she sighed. She pushed away her pride and carefully took the paper out with the tips of her fingers, trying her best not to touch the rest of the container.

" _You're witty and you're wise!_

 _How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!"_

She frowns, not making sense of it. BB's plan is clearly advancing, but Kiyomi doesn't know in what direction. He expected her to figure out where the cat came from, he was prepared to send this part of the poem back to her after she sent the last haiku.

But that isn't what she wanted to focus on. BB was in her house. At the most, mere _hours_ ago. She was in the same room as him. A killer. A stalker. A lunatic was in her _home._

She put the piece of paper on her counter and rushed to her room, quickly grabbing her phone.

Kiyomi has no way of getting into contact with L. It's understandable for him not to answer. However, as she tries to call Naomi, she is met with the same voicemail that plagued her life for weeks.

She tries again.

And again.

And again.

The ringing echoed in the darkened and silent apartment. As time passed, the harder it became for Kiyomi's hand to hold her phone. This is what BB wanted, wasn't it? To make her paranoid and nervous. To forcibly bring out her true nature?

But this-This mess that Kiyomi has found herself to be, cannot be her.

She hits the red 'end' button on her phone, mid ring, as realization slowly creeps up on her, and all of her nerves slowly calm. A wave of sudden...numbness washes over her brain.

She wishes she could have stayed asleep.

* * *

When she leaves her apartment at seven a.m, she doesn't see Mido in the hallway like she usually does. She paused for a moment, looking at his door, almost as if she was waiting for Mido to walk through with that knowing look of, 'just talk to me, what's going on?'.

But it never happened. She shook her head at herself. _He's fine,_ she thinks, _Probably just taking a day off from school and work._

Then, she went on her way.

* * *

In three days, the entrance ceremony at To-Ho will take place. Kiyomi was informed that she will also be giving a speech weeks prior. It was suggested that she talk about how through hard work and determination, anything is possible, since that was how she was able to earn her scholarships and grants to attend the college.

She stayed up the next night writing her speech. It felt repetitive, but she knew that people never really listen to student speeches. If anything, being on that stage is just a bragging right. Deep down, she hates it. However, she reminds herself that the canon Kiyomi would love to have any chance of attention.

* * *

" _What is Takada-san's theory?"_ L asks as soon as Kiyomi and Naomi walk in.

Kiyomi takes a breath as she takes a seat. Another fancy hotel, she thinks. " _Good afternoon to you too, then."_ She mumbles through a yawn. Work had been, well, work. It didn't help that she didn't get any sleep last night. " _Honestly, I have no idea."_

" _Ah. That's a surprise, Takada-san. I'm ninety percent sure you know more then you let on."_ He says before taking a bite of his cake. Kiyomi furrows her eyebrows, surprised at his statement.

" _Explain?"_

" _Why did you think the jar of jam was BB's?"_

" _Well, the note inside of it, of course."_

" _How did you approach the fridge?"_ What kind of question was that? He's clearly testing her knowledge right now. His line of thinking isn't completely wrong. She has no way of knowing that BB likes jam from his perspective. Even if she could get to the BB LA case files (They're heavily restricted), there wouldn't be a reference to his eating habits. The only way she could know, logically, would be through Naomi, who had first hand experience dealing with BB and seeing his peculiar way of acting.

But Naomi didn't tell her. Naomi wouldn't lie for her sake either.

" _Not many people see a jar of strawberry jam in their fridge and become suspicious. It's a tad ridiculous to think about. Now, if Takada-san had a fragariaphobia, it would be understandable. Tell me, is Takada-san afraid of strawberries?"_ The tone of voice L was using made it hard for her to tell if he was joking or not. But she remembers how he treats Light in the manga and well, it doesn't really matter if he's joking or not. She shoots him a quick glare.

" _Imagine waking up at five a.m. in an old apartment. You know you have a stalker who has killed people. Your whole apartment is dark and you live alone. As you turn the corner into your kitchen, see your refrigerator is wide open and is the only light source. In that situation, I think it's appropriate to be paranoid about anything."_

L chews on his thumb for a moment. " _I suppose so. Although a fear of strawberries isn't anything to be ashamed of."_ He says, and is met with another annoyed look from Kiyomi. He drops the topic and moves on. " _Did you talk to any of your neighbors to see if they perhaps saw someone enter your apartment?"_

" _No, the one person I talk to has been busy, I haven't seen them since the incident."_

" _You didn't knock?"_

" _...no."_ Kiyomi didn't want to delve any deeper.

" _Do you have their number? Please contact them now. We don't have time to waste. The off chance that they might have seen BB is a risk that is very possible."_

Kiyomi took her phone out and quickly dialed Mido's number.

" _The number you seem to be trying to reach is out of service."_

* * *

Kiyomi got her haircut the morning of the entrance ceremony. Her co-worker mentioned a hair stylist that was almost to good to be true. They had no problem scheduling an appointment so early in the morning.

It was cut almost to a pixie, similar to how the original Kiyomi had it.

" _You're giving a speech at to-ho? That's a big deal, Takada-san."_ The man said, snipping off another portion of her hair. " _You're parents must be proud."_

" _Yes, they are"_

No point in correcting him. Kiyomi found it's easier just to go with things. Of course, she would be quick to correct L or Light, but a random hair stylist? That's a bit much.

She wasn't even lying. If her parents were around, she thinks they'd be very proud of her.

* * *

A couple people at the university recognized her, she heard whispers of other students talking. ' _I've seen her face before, I can't remember where.' 'She does the late night news on Sakura TV, I'm pretty sure.' 'Oh, yeah!'_

Of course, it's not real fame. She's just a news anchor. However, it does make her a tad paranoid. She's never been fond of people talking about her. She was in the auditorium. The actual ceremony was going to begin in ten minutes, so she stood in front of her seat in the front row, trying to get a grasp of exactly how many people were going to see her on stage.

" _Takada-san, It's a surprise to see you again."_ A familiar, honey toned voice said. Turning her head, she comes face to face with a face that has been more than relevant in her life.

" _You can call me Kiyomi now, I have a feeling we're going to be seeing each other more often."_ She said with a smile. " _Congratulations on being the student representative, Light."_

He let out a small, polite laugh. " _Thank you Kiyomi. Did you change your mind about me? This is the nicest you've been to me."_

She felt the corner of her lips twitch. " _Keep dreaming. I can be professional though. Maybe you should try it."_

" _Hm, I could try."_ He said, a playful tone in his voice. It was such a contrast knowing how he usually acts with the death note. " _But-"_

" _Ah. Takada Kiyomi and Yagami Light. It's a pleasure to meet both of you."_ A more, dull and monotone voice said. L, now next to Light, seemingly not caring what he was interrupting. " _I'm also the freshmen representative."_

" _Hideki Ryuga, right? I remember reading your name on the student rooster."_ Kiyomi said, trying to keep the conversation as normal as usual. " _It's quite the achievement for two students to get a 100% on the exam."_

" _Yes. Thank you Takada-san. You must have also achieved something great to be in the front row." L said, she could tell he was really trying to make Light think he was a normal student. Well, what L thought was a normal student._

" _I'll admit, I was thinking the same thing. I was just about to ask."_

" _I gained early acceptance, no exam required."_ She said with a small, smug smile. " _Through scholarships, internships, exchange programs, and a couple of letters of recommendation, it was almost too easy. I'm giving a speech after you two are done."_

Light's eyes widened, " _I had no idea, congratulations."_ He said. " _Maybe you could tell me about it after the ceremony?"_

" _I'll think about it."_

" _It seems as if Kiyomi finds Light-kun boring."_ L deadpanned.

" _Wh-"_

" _Attention all students. Please take your seats, as the ceremony will begin in a few minutes."_

* * *

The ceremony goes well. Light's speech was just how'd you expect it to be. Polite, professional, and technically 'hopeful'. L speech was...it was definitely a speech. Kiyomi's speech was much like how she delivered news, but she'd admit it was different from having a co-host to switch to when you needed a break from talking.

She pretended not to hear L reveal his identity to Light, pretending to be enamored with Yukito Shiraba, a student who was also a freshmen representative three years ago, who is now graduating this year.

It was convincing enough.

Kiyomi left the auditorium after the ceremony. She quickly found herself surrounded by other students and was swept away. She wonders what part of her persona makes it seem so 'friendly'.

Shiori Akino, Sakura Aoi, and Tamotsu Yoshizawa quickly swap numbers with her. It was tiring, unnecessary, and annoying. But Kiyomi acted happy and ecstatic to meet them.

While L was telling Light that he thought he was Kira, Sakura was asking Kiyomi what bands she liked. It was an...underwhelming experience. However, she couldn't tell them to leave her alone, or that she had something more important to do. She had to keep up appearances, regardless of the Kira case.

You can't take a break from trying to be perfect, because if you even hesitate, everything falls. It will crumble into pieces that you cannot rebuild. You will be alone in a pile of debris, with no one to blame.

So Kiyomi smiles at the group of people she found herself in. Someone asks her if she's interested in joining the drama club at the college.

She says she'll think about it.

* * *

Kiyomi walks past Mido's apartment door, taking a different staircase up. She pauses while she walks back to his door. The apartment complex was quiet, only the faint sound of a feral cat's meows echoed. She thinks about knocking on his door like she did while she was in highschool. How he'd make her dinner, and she could be herself, or rather, what she thought could be herself.

How'd she lie on his couch and banter with him while he was cooking. He'd talk about college while she talked about work.

It's painfully easy to isolate yourself. You just stop texting, you say you're busy, you change your schedule just a tad so you don't see anyone.

You become selfish, you start thinking that they need this just as much as you do. That not knowing you is better. You make the decision for them.

" _I've always been a bit of a control freak, haven't I?"_ So, Kiyomi swallowed down her pride and knocked on his door.

She waited.

There was no answer.

She furrowed her eyebrows. She could see there was a light on in there through the bottom of the door. And Mido hated wasting energy, so he'd never leave the lights on in a room he wasn't in.

She knocked again.

And once more.

Until she said to hell with it, took the spare key from under the doormat and unlocked the door herself. She flung the door open with her own dramatic flare, something he said he found funny. " _Mido! I'm the only one allowed to ignore you! It can't be done to me-"_

However, when she saw the person sitting in the living room wasn't Mido, she stopped.

* * *

 **DarkDust27:** **_** へ_(‾◡◝ )

 **RimK10:** _Well, hopefully with Kiyomi around, this isn't going to be a super long story. I don't think she'd have the patience lmao_ _〔´∇｀〕_

 **BloodyLoved** : _I hope this chapter met your expectations! She might meet BB sooner then you'd think._ _(≧∇≦)/_

 **DeceivingAura:** _Ahah, totally not judging. At first I was :/ about shipping her with Light,, but now..._

 **kaitlin2515:** _When Light gets on the task force, be prepared lmao_ _೭੧(❛▿❛✿)੭೨_

 **Cake Bird** **:** _Ahh! I'm glad you like her!_ _(*^▽^*)_

 **giant salamander:** _(I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up what a precipice was omg) But! Yes! That was the feeling I was going for! Omg im so glad that what you got out of the story. Everything about Kiyomi was built on her past life's failure. It's like trying to build a house on a carboard box as a base. Sure, it works and if you cover it up, it looks fine. But eventually the box going to crumble. And while your up at the top of the house, you wont the box holding the whole thing together is falling apart._ _(∗´꒳`)_

 **Shinoki** _ **:** ! Thank you so much. (If its any consolation, when writing this I still have to reference the manga. I dont have it all memorized ahah) __(=^▽^=)_

 **chibianimefan26:** _OWO_

 **(The 2 guest reviews)** _Kiyomi and Light will prob be end game. However before getting there, Light will prob be his 'womanizing self' and date Misa and (Future mystery girl). Kyiomi will do the same._ _(*･▽･*)_

 **imafangirlforever** : _I'm glad you like the story! Before I started writing this story, I thought the same thing about there not being any Kiyomi OC's. At the time, there was so many Sayu and Misa oc's, it felt as if everyone just forgot about her. It's too bad too, she's such a powerful character in canon. But sadly, she got the Ohba treatment as of the rest of DN female cast._ _t(ツ)_/¯_

 ** _Reviews feed authors! (○-∀-)✎_**


	14. Guilt, Unguarded

Oh man did i leave the last chapter on a cliff hanger? I swear, my hiatus wasn't on purpose.

There is a small shift in Kiyomi's personality for this chapter. I feel like its important to say that this isn't out of character for her, but simply her being more...human? It's all explained in the story. BB is good at getting into peoples heads and finding their weak points, thats all I'll say.

I reply to reviews at the end

Edit 11/16/2017: I did some edits. Added in some stuff that was going to be in future chapters, but I wanted to speed things up. I want to end this fic before January. Wish me luck. I'm actually putting some time into editing the next chapter. I guess I should put a small warning, but next chapter is kind of intense?

* * *

The blinds from the back of the room barely let any light in, and in that moment, everything felt so loud. Every step, every breath, Kiyomi felt like if she made any sound at all, even something small, something horrible would happen. The light switch was right next to her, all she had to do was move an inch. Just one, tiny, tiny inch.

She went to move her arm, but it didn't want to move. She didn't know if she wanted to see what was in front of her. The light from the blinds showed nothing in the room, just a brief silhouette of what seemed to be a person.

 _You have too_

 _The switch! The switch_

 _You can't see_

 _Light, you need Light_

 _C'mon Kiyo, don't be so **useless**_

Her eyes widened, and as fast as she could while holding her breath, she turned on the light switch.

Then, she furrowed her eyebrows. It was no person who was in front of her. She hesitantly took a step forward with the tilt of her head, trying to piece together what exactly she saw. It was a yellow smiling balloon, tied close to a mannequin body with a wig duct taped to it. It looked ridiculous in the light, but it truly was a perfect silhouette. On the side of the wig, spit and strawberry jam remnants were smeared on it. Disgusting.

Kiyomi put her hand to the side of her own face while a sigh escaped her lips. "Ah, fuck."

Her eyes drifted downwards, to the coffee table by the mannequin. She decided she'd call L after she found what she wanted. As much as she wanted to be on the task force, she still just couldn't rely on them. It was like this...reminder in her head. She was the only one who knew, no one will ever be on the same level as she was.

Another note was left next to a cup of cold, black coffee. Mido drank his coffee black, and by the ring marks on the table, the cup had been there for a while.

She didn't pick up the note, but she could read it. _"for what you're pleased to say,_

 _And bidding you good-morning now, I'll call another day."_

She looked to the side, but not moving her head. Her eyebrows furrowed, looked at the door and then back to the note. Staggering back a bit, she took in a cold breath. "Fuck." She said, "Fuck, fuck-" She ran her hands through her hair, taking deeper and deeper breaths.

She closed her eyes for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"I really don't need this right now."

* * *

"I have to admit, Takada-san, I didn't expect you to invite me to lunch."

Kiyomi smiled, taking a sip of her tea. It was a nice day out, and aside from her one friend going missing, she still had to keep all of her plans in motion. "Well, I did." She said, "Have you been here before? My co-worker suggested it"

She was looking at the menu, but Light couldn't figure out her game. Nevertheless, he smiled. "I've been here once or twice." He said. Kiyomi put down her cup, leaning back in her seat, fully looking at Light. Her expression neutral. "I've been meaning to ask, are you planning on working at Sakura TV while attending To-Ho?"

"I've always liked keeping busy," She said. "Plus, my position at Sakura TV is too good to leave."

"That's quite admirable." He said. He was holding his tongue, he wanted to ask something else and Kiyomi knew it. _Spit it out, coward._

"You..." She purposely seemed hesitant, when in reality she wanted to know what he was thinking right away. "Want to ask something else, don't you?"

He laughed softly, "You can read me like a book, can't you?" He was acting, he wanted her to ask him what was going on. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. "I heard that your roommate went missing last week, are you alright?"

Kiyomi sighed, that wasn't the question she wanted. His eyes screamed pity, but she knew that he couldn't care less if he tried. "People come and go in life. But, if you asking if I'm worried, then of course. Mido is a close friend."

He nodded. "Times like theses make having your parents around important, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Excuse me?"

 _You're playing with fire, Light._

"I just mean, it's no secret you don't have many 'close' friends, I just assumed you were close to your family. Losing a close friend can be difficult."

He spoke with such a familiar smile. It was disgusting. Ah, this was his game. "My parents died years ago." She answered, calmly. "And I haven't lost Mido. I won't let that happen" Will you?

Underneath her calm response was a sharp sting. There was a feeling in her chest that she recognized from before. A feeling she could never place, she could never calm. It was like she was on the edge of a building, teetering back and forth. Her feet aching, and the wind growing harsher and harsher.

There was that feeling hiding under her words. And it was growing more persistent. Every single second. Like she was about to fall and

 _Never_

 _Ever_

 _Be_

 _The_

 _Same._

She remained focused on the conversation. She maintained her eye contact with Light, and hid that feeling.

In talking about her family, she'd give him more options for him to exploit. If he didn't kill her, then he'd manipulate her, like he does with everyone. Yes-he'd try to act like a concerned acquaintance trying to lend an ear. If she'd mentioned any family names (if she had any) he'd use it as ammunition to blackmail her, if it ever came to it.

He was in control of the conversation. She had to change this. "It's alright, I assume you're just pushing your problems on me. Kira is the name on everyone's tongue these days. Your father being the chief of police must be putting a strain on your family."

Oh, that was just mean. Light didn't seem like he particularly liked Kiyomi saying that. "If you ever want to talk about it, I can always lend an ear." You could almost hear the smirk in her voice.

"That's..." He started, "Maybe you actually can read me like a book," He leaned back in his seat, maintaining eye contact with her. She fully understood the double meaning he meant.

Maybe he was on the same building as her? Maybe his feet hurt just as much as hers.

Maybe she could just... turn around.

 _Maybe she_

 _could push_

 _him off._

Kiyomi smiled with her cup of coffee close to her lips. Focus, Kiyomi. Focus.

He knew that Kiyomi didn't trust him, but he didn't know why. He couldn't think of a time where he slipped up, past the night when she caught him booby-trapping his desk. Did he kill someone she knew? Did she know more than she lead on?

But...she was hesitant around him before he became Kira.

Light knew something wasn't making sense.

And Kiyomi was having fun toying with the person who killed her. She was beginning to understand why Light and L put so much effort into this the first time around.

* * *

Naomi and Kiyomi searched Midos apartment, going through his trash and mail, trying to find some sort of idea of if Mido knew that BB was going to kidnap him, or if it happened fast.

There was no blood in his apartment, showing that he should be okay. There should be no reason for BB to kill him. Right?

Unless...

Kiyomi wondered if she affected Mido's life expectancy.

Then again, how would she know? Did it even matter in the end?

...

...

What was her goal again?

* * *

"Perhaps Kiyomi-chan should contact the task force immediately when she finds another clue." L's dull voice said. Was he annoyed?

"I contacted Naomi." She said.

"Four and half hours later." He replied, swirling around in his chair, slowly. She rolled her eyes, folding her arms.

"Won't happen again." She said, almost like a kid being scolded by a teacher.

"It is interesting, however. Kiyomi-chan presents herself as a serious student and TV anchor, always very polite and nice." He said, "But-"

"I'm a bitch. I know. Is it really that interesting?" She quickly cut him off, getting straight to the point.

He frowned slightly. His eyes boring into her, forcing her to break eye contact with a scoff. "It seems Kiyomi-chan is irritated."

"BB has Mido and it's my fault." _Is it really? Maybe he deserved it._ Kiyomi's inner voice was struggling against her. "I don't see the use in have a conversation like this when I could be with Naomi trying to figure out where the hell he is." She snapped. Oh, oh the wind caught up! It was a heavy push, she almost fell off the building. She needed to fix her footing, but the wind was growing harsher. She took a step forward to where L was sitting, her heels clicking on the tile of the hotel rooms floor. "Do you have any idea what it's like being completely alone? Mido is the only one I had left." _What are you saying! You don't mean that, no, you're lying again._

 _What do you feel? Describe it, where are you feeling this in your body? Come on, you can do it. Just pin point this feeling, this doubt, this weakness-and **rip it out.**_

L was silent for a moment, his thumb to his lips. He was looking at Kiyomi, trying to figure out if there was some ulterior motive for acting...emotional. But perhaps he really is just out of his element in this area.

"It doesn't help that there's a mass murder on the loose with thousands of people worshiping him like a god. Do you know what I do on the news? Every day, I read the names of the dead of a list. So yes, I'm irritated, I'm pissed, and when I act like a bitch, I get results."

"Getting results is the only thing that matters." She finishes, and it sounded like she was mostly telling herself that. Like the line between what she tells herself in her head and her mouth blurred. Was she really even talking to L?

"I agree," He responds. "We will catch BB, along with Kira."

She pauses, looking at the piles of files-the pointless leads, the wasted time had taken a physical form around her. "I want to believe you."

 **Get it out.**

The gears were turning in L's mind faster than they have before. Kiyomi was hiding something, and L knew it.

* * *

She stood on the other side of the metal fence of the tennis yard. Crowds and crowds of people were standing around. Faceless people who Kiyomi could never find herself able to connect to; like nothing had changed when she was younger. Was it like this with Mido? Kiyomi could barely see the two geniuses play. She kept her distance on purpose. She wanted just to be a face that could fade away for a moment, painfully aware that these kinds of moments were fleeting. Her time on air had made her more popular.

People loved to hear the updated death toll of Kira, and when such gruesome news is matched with a 'sweet' face like hers, it paints a softer picture for those who were on the edge of whether or not they supported Kira.

Many viewed Kiyomi as a neutral party, almost like a person in the middle of the crossroads. Oh, how wrong that was.

She heard a tennis ball hit the fence, but she didn't know who scored, but then cheering quickly followed.

She chewed on her bottom lip.

This was a foreshadowing event, wasn't it? Light wins in the manga. She felt a sense for dread in her chest. She furrowed her eyebrows and pushed through the crowd. She soon got a better view, and for a minute, she caught Lights eye.

The tennis ball went shooting past him.

Kiyomi smiled.

* * *

She was not invited to lunch with L and Light, and she wasn't expecting too. Instead she spent the afternoon talking with...fans.

It was odd. The original Kiyomi did not rise up to have fans when she was in college. Then again, Kiyomi has definitely found her own path. She hated the attention, but at the same times she kind of liked it. It gave her a sense that no one could touch her, even though it was far from the truth.

* * *

She brought flowers to Mr. Yagamis hospital room. Ms. Yagami was delighted, and Sayu was apparently excited to ask Kiyomi what it was like being on TV. When she arrived, she didn't see Light, but she didn't care. It was...almost hard looking at the Yagami family.

Knowing what happens to them.

But she smiled and answered all of Sayu's questions. She didn't see, but Mr. Yagami was smiling.

Oh, how her persona has grown. It's seamless, really. All she has to do is smile, and no one will know. She can't mess this up. She won't let herself.

* * *

When she went home to her empty apartment that night, she once again couldn't sleep. Did she need Mido? Why does she feel so wrong right now? It's like there where a thousand framed pictures in her mind, and one's titled to the side just a little but. Just one thing is out of place.

The wind is strong tonight.

She took out a pen and paper and started writing. She wrote about the garden at her old house. She listed every flower, bug, bush, and tree that she ever saw or planted in that garden.

Kiyomi felt as if the world was in her hands, just like when she used to pick up spiders when she was young.

She remembers her father. How he never knew. Or maybe he did, he knew her best. Kiyomi never payed attention to him, as cold as it sounded. He was never on the playing board, he never played a role in the grand play that Kira set up.

Is that why he died? Because he was important to her, and he wasn't supposed to be?

How many more people are dead because of Kiyomi? What had she caused?

She'd look at spiders with curiosity when she was young, at every angle like she'd never seen a spider before. Then it would either crawl up her arm, or fall off and back into the dirt without a sound.

She hummed to herself and crumpled up the paper she was writing.

Another thing to burn.

* * *

passanger : I'm really happy you like Mido, i had no idea people would like him so much! Thank you!

DarkDust27: ( ◞･౪･) ehehe, guess you just have to wait to find out

makesomehassel: midoprotectionsqaud2k14

reula: I didn't even mean to leave it on that cliff hanger for so long! I'm sorry

RimK10: I kind of view Kiyomi like a snake playing with her food, which right now is Light. She's getting more daring, similar to how Light starts to get with L. Testing just how far she can go without giving too much away, but at the same time being interesting enough for Light to peruse her for more information. What I like though, is that even if she does slip up, she wont know until the _very_ end. Just like everyone else.

kaitlin2515: I'm glad you like her! ashjkl;kl writing L is so fun bc like, I feel like he would actually say that.

Katy Rose: Thank you!

DeceivingAura: BB doesn't kill without a reason ( ` ω ´ ) He needs Mido for something. Oh, and Light and Kiyomi was just a possibility. It's kind of a weird situation. Because right now, with Mido gone, her mental mind frame has shifted. She's feeling real guilt. But romance is not the focus of the story.

Maester Ta (￣ω￣;)

Snickering Fox : i honestly didn't expect people to like Mido so much, but your guess was close!

snkannie: Thank you!

cat105 : ( ◞･౪･) L? I never seriously thought about those two together. I remeber someone else said something similar. Hmmm, it would be rather odd. But I'll think about it. I'm glad you like Kiyomi

Ella Peters: (^∇^)


	15. Un-dreamlike, compunction

**Hello! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry I didn't keep up with my promise about updating. I think I was 17 when I first started plotting out this fanfic, and now I'm 20. That's p wild. I've been dealing with a bunch of mental health stuff that's been gnawing at me for years, but at the same time I've been growing in a way I never thought was possible for me.**

 **I made this version of Kiyo as a way for my younger self to vent. A lot of her pain was mine. I didn't know how to express my struggles with addiction and fear in any other way. But I'm not a teenager anymore, and I know that I've outgrown Kiyomi.**

 **My goal is to have this story done before Christmas, and I think that's a respectable amount of time. I can't begin to say how much this story means to me. From my suicidal dumb teenage ass to a somewhat functioning adult, giving Kiyomi a happy ending is something I owe to everyone who reads this story, as well as myself.**

 **Thank you to everyone who left reviews or pm'd me while I was away.**

 **(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)**

* * *

Her hands tighten around his neck, tighter and tighter. He isn't moving, but he's awake. His breathing is loud, growing more desperate and shallow by each second. _Tighter, tighter._ Her legs shake as she sits atop of him. The world around her fades as her knuckles turn white. A light red hue is already forming around her grip. His pale skin contrasts the red well.

 _Tighter._

His arm moves ever so slowly as he places one hand over hers. She doesn't budge, his touch was light-barely noticeable. Her vision shakes, her own breath growing heavy. Was it excitement? Fear? No, it can't be fear. How long has she been waiting for this? Her gaze moves slowly, from his thin neck to his pointed chin. A line of drool was connect to his chin to his mouth. She follows the line, his lips show to be just as red as the marks on his neck.

 _Tighter, tighter._

The rush in her blood felt like fire. He was so weak underneath her. She held his life in her hands. It was hers to take, it always has been. All she had to do was just tighten her grip a little more. Just a little more. Almost there.

Her thighs began to shake, she was still hovering over him. All her strength belonged in her hands.

He parted his lips so slowly, trying to hard to take in a breath. Oh, was he scared? A small grin tugged at Takada lips. " _Four"_ He gasped, " _More.. Minutes."_

It takes a while to suffocate someone. Roughly five minutes, she remembers looking it up before.

It felt good. Watching the man who caused her so much pain _suffer._ It was her own form of justice- the justice no one else would give to her. She swallowed hard, but kept her grip. Almost there, almost.

He didn't even fight back.

Her gaze moved again, past his drool covered lips to his eyes. They looked glazed over and tear filled, but the color of his irises she couldn't place. Brown or black? It seemed to be changing back and forth. She leaned down closer, searching for an answer. She couldn't see it, but a small smile formed on her victims face.

She couldn't find an answer, but she kept her grip. She forced herself to look again at his face, all at once. But his features kept changing, a sharp nose turned to a soft one. Thin eyebrows turned into natural bushy brows. Her vision blurred-is she crying? Her arms started to shake, but she forced her grip to remain.

 _Tighter._

She leaned back, a knot forming in her stomach, the fire calming.

His face-It was _changing._

Soft, light brown hair was switching to a black curly bird's nest of hair. Back and forth, every second. This man beneath her had no identity, but at the same time she knew exactly who he was. Her eyes widened and shame flooded her system.

But her grip remained. Everything was telling her to stop, every voice in the back of her head was screaming telling her that this isn't who she was. The fire in her blood was like a high from earlier, and she suddenly felt so cold. She wanted that fire back. The echos of her own justice seemed more rational. This was what she _wanted._

At the sound of a voice, her eyes darted to the man's lips. Drool covered and a bright, bright red. " _It feels good, doesn't it?"_ He said through a broken whisper. As pathetic as he sounded, the expression he had remained smug despite its ever changing distortion.

Her eyes widened, and instinctively she removed her hands in shock. A gasp was lost in her throat as she looked at her hands, hair covering her eyes. Shaking, why can't she stop shaking? She wanted to move back, run. But she was frozen.

She felt _cold._

She looked back at the man, but he wasn't breathing.

* * *

She woke up in a cold sweat, nearly shooting out of the chair she fell asleep in. She was hit with confusion, she wasn't in her apartment in bed. She looked around quickly. It felt like her heart was in her throat.

"Ah, Kiyo-chan is awake." At the sound of that voice, she closed her eyes with furrowed brows and swallowed hard. Relief fell on her. Right, she was working with L, how could she forget? The rest of the task force went home for the night, but she insisted she still had enough energy to work. The glow of the moon through the window showed that she was only asleep for a few minutes.

"My apologies, I didn't feel like I was tired." She said with a steady voice. She straightened her posture in her seat and exhaled. Watari placed a cup of tea next to her, which she quickly thanked.

"Hm. It's fine. You did find out where Beyond was located, so your time wasn't entirely useless." He sat across from her, taking a loud slurp from his coffee.

Kiyomi didn't hide her surprise, how could she forget something so big? She felt a migraine coming on.

L tilted his head, "Is Kiyo-chan alright?" He asked, but Kiyomi knew he didn't really care. Kiyomi didn't bother to stare him down. Memories of earlier slowly came back to her, if not a big foggy. RNaomi and her were working together since she got of out class in the afternoon. She couldn't remember the details, however, which did concern her. She picked up the teacup that Watari gave her and glanced down at her reflection.

She looked the same. No distortions in sight.

She began with a mutter, "This is your fault, I was... wrong to put all the blame on myself earlier, I wasn't thinking clearly. You could have caught BB much earlier. Because of you, more people are dead and will continue to die." She said, her voice growing stronger by the second. "Honestly, you haven't proven to be any better than Beyond or Kira. You just parade around as a detective because that's your version of fun."

"Ah, It seems that the later in the night it gets, the meaner Kiyo-chan gets. Interesting."

"Am I wrong?" Kiyomi responds, her eyes narrowing.

"No," He said, taking another slurp of his coffee. He meets Kiyomi's eyes. "Not at all."

* * *

She didn't tell anyone about her dream. Who would listen, anyways?

She thinks back to when she was in highschool. She was dead set on not killing anyone back then. Just giving them _true_ justice, like they deserved.

As much as she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about her dream and the fire that she felt in her veins.

The flame that came from a lighter wasn't enough.

* * *

Next week. She had to wait that long to get Mido back. They set up cameras discreetly around the house the Beyond was in, and began alerting near by authorities to insure the safety of civilians near by without tipping Beyond off. The plan was set in motion, and all that was left to do was wait.

All of this based on the assumption of Mido being alive.

* * *

L muttered just loud enough for Watari to hear. "She tries to appear strict and mature. Any emotional outbursts seem to surprise her, and then it changes to anger as if to cover it up."

"Are you asking me for input, sir?"

"Hm. Yes. Your experience is usually helpful." He said as he took a bite of cake. "What do you think of Kiyomi? Full assessment."

Watari chuckled as he refiled L's coffee. "Children often use anger to cover up guilt. Those who never are corrected by parents grow into people who have no awareness of the dynamic causing them to act the way they act. They depend on anger to protect themselves."

"You saw her behavior after Mido was taken, and then after she woke up yesterday night. How would you explain that?" L asks.

"Well, it's nothing that you don't already suspect." The old man said with a small smile. "She's used to hiding what she thinks, and the person we talk to and interact with is nothing more than just a persona she uses. From my experience from the children at Whammy's..." He stops as looks out the window, images of the many children he has taken care of over the years filled his mind. His voice turns mournful, "She reminds me of the children who dealt with trauma. Children who saw shocking things when they were too young. Death, abandonment, abuse, betrayal. But she's smart like those children too, she's hyper aware of herself. She believes she can handle everything on her own."

"She isn't Kira. Everything points to Light Yagami." L said, "I can't see how she would be involved with _anything_ related to Kira. Despite that, I _know_ she knows something. She's hiding something important."

The old man hums in response, pondering on what to say. "Perhaps..." Watari stops, debating on whether or not he should continue. He folds his arms behind his back and turns to leave. "When we learn more about Beyonds plans, we will learn more about her as a result."

L rolls his neck and looked at Watari with bored eyes. "And the spiders web will be finished." He says with a sigh. He looked over the poems Beyond had been using to communicate more than once.

"At the very least, the current one will be."

* * *

It was another evening at Sakura TV... or it was supposed to be. It was also the day that Kiyomi realized she forgot to bring her phone charger to work. The one time she wanted to call L she literally had no way to. It wasn't like she knew his actual number. It was just set as unknown in her contacts. He had no way of knowing that Sakura TV was being held captive by the second Kira until everyone else did.

She rolled her eyes as she was told _she_ was the one who had to introduce the tapes. However, for once she told her boss no. She suggested Nana instead. Change this up a little for something 'this big.'

'This' wasn't supposed to happen for another _two_ days. She deeply inhaled and exhaled to try and calm herself down. She was _just a little annoyed,_ and by little she was actually two seconds away from slapping someone.

That someone mainly being Misa. No matter how far away she saw the girls actions coming, it didn't stop the anger that followed. Or maybe it was pity? Either way it didn't matter.

She heard a crash earlier in the building, along with some screams. The floor rumbled as she picked up her pace.

Kiyomi sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in one day. Her heels clicked against the tiles as she walked to the broadcasting room with the extra copies of the tapes in her hands. Her boss cared little about the lives of everyone on staff if it meant that the ratings would go up. Or maybe he was scared too. Pathetic.

" _-If we stop this broadcast then he'll kill all of us."_ She heard her bosses frantic voice say from the other side of the door. A familiar smile crept onto her face.

She opened the door while Mr. Yagami pulled out his gun, pointing it directly in his bosses face. " _Shut up! You're going to be killed here and now if you don't give those tapes to me."_ His voice was stern and cold. Respectable.

" _Glad to see you're feeling better Mr. Yagami."_ Kiyomi said smoothly as she walked in. The sound of her heels against the tiles drew everyone's attention, halting the conversation. "I have the extra copies here. If you give me one moment I can give you the originals as well."

"Kiyo-chan! Don't!" One of her co-works quickly said, but didn't move from his seat. She only smiled at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Take some responsibility, we made Kira a celebrity after all. We're getting what we deserve. " She replied smoothly, not even looking at Mr. Yagami while she put the copies into the same bag as the originals. "I trust you know what your doing?" She extended her arm out, handing him the bag. He hesitated, clearly unsettled by how calm Kiyomi was acting. "I tried contacting our.. friend, however my phone ran out of battery. Are you following his orders?

Mr. Yagami frowned. "Thank you, Takada. Stick close with me, I'll try calling him now."

They stood in the hallway away from everyone while he made his call. Kiyomi leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed, wondering how much longer this whole ordeal was going to take.

" _-I'd say going out the front would be too dangerous. But we could always use the police van again. "_ A moment passed. " _Right, Takada-san is with me. She tried to call you but-Right, of course-"_

Kiyomi stared at the flickering ceiling light. It was getting late.

* * *

Mr. Yagami stood in awe of the barricade in front of Sakura TV. Kiyomi stood behind him, unimpressed with the sight.

As she got into the passenger seat, she remained as calm as she had been all day. She wondered if it was really wise to let Mr. Yagami drive, however she couldn't find herself to care.

As they eventually drove away from the wall of police officers, silence covered the car. The night sky was pitch black. The lights of Tokyo seemed to glow brighter when ever something big happens, she noticed.

"Takada, you're the same age as my son, aren't you?" Mr. Yagami began, almost startling her. She merely nodded. He nodded back, as if to confirm it with himself. "Are you aware how much danger you where in? If you want to back out of the investigation at any point-"

"No good deed goes unpunished." She said. "I do what I think is right, like how you decided to drive a van into my workplace. Am I more recklass than you for simply being young and a woman?"

Mr. Yagami gave a chuckle at that, but it was clear that he wasn't truly amused. A veil of concern was clear through his voice. "If my son worked at Sakura TV, I'd tell him to quit after today."

"I'll count myself lucky that I'm not your son then. However, a transfer to another station will probably be in my future." She said through a sigh.

"And for leaving the investigation, that will depend on the state that Mido is in one we get him back."

She couldn't dare to look at him while she said that. Her eyes were trained on the street lights. The state Mido is in-meaning, if he's dead, alive, barely alive, mentally scarred, or missing any limbs. BB was capable of anything, and the list of possibilities of what he's done to Mido in Kiyomi's mind was growing. She could feel Mr. Yagami look at her while she thought, was it pity in his eyes or sorrow? Kiyomi didn't want to know.

"We'll get him back. I promise."

She held back a frown. She was almost disgusted that thought that he held any power to think he could promise her such a thing. He had no idea what the future held in any aspect. His attempt to share her feelings-to _relate_ to her-He had no right. He didn't _know._

But she didn't say that.

"Thank you, Mr. Yagami."


	16. My head goes, my heart goes

**Me, November 1st: oh i got plenty of time to finish chapter 16 lmao**

 **Me, today: fuck**

 **ANYWAYS... its here. I reply to reviews at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Grey skies loomed over Tokyo. A heavy somber feeling followed it's citizens during the dreary morning. It's been days since the Sakura TV incident, yet not a soul would be able to tell. The lives lost that day lingered in the nations heart.

The fresh rain from the night brought the smell of mold. With her umbrella shielding her from the remaining rain drops, Kiyomi walked along a stone path. Tall trees loomed over her, their trunks growing closer and closer together as she walked deeper into the forest. The stone path slowly disappeared, leaving her to follow a dirt path with uncertainty. Nevertheless, she went on. In her free hand she held a camera, taking pictures of the empty forest while she walked.

In a few weeks, Light would most likely be in the same spot as she was. Kiyomi had plenty of time to find the location of where he'd bury the death note. It was a difficult task. She only had a handful of pictures in her memory to lead her in the right direction. She had to find the trees and bushes that lined up exactly as one single frame.

But Kiyomi was a quick worker.

She took another picture.

Currently, however, Light was speaking to L at the hotel. Kiyomi knew exactly what the two were saying, despite not being told of their meeting. She had their voices in the back of their head, every breath they took to every time their eyes met- she knew. She memorized it to a T during another sleepless night.

Kiyomi pushed her sunglasses up. Her blonde wig hide the curves of her face well, and her coat made any figure she had disappear. She couldn't risk even the smallest chance of her little search being found out by a certain detective.

Considering that this is the third forest outside of Tokyo that Kiyomi has had to visit, she considered her paranoia well founded.

But right now, she wasn't Kiyomi. She was yet another nameless face who lived in Japan. Another casualty in the wake of Kira's reign, wrecked by stress and insomnia.

The undergrowth of the forest whistled as wind passed through. The plant life seemed too grey for April. All the deer she'd encountered stood too still, and the squirrels ran at even the faintest of sounds. It was as if the earth itself knew of the unbalance brought upon it by bored gods of death.

A dread in Kiyomi's heart was brewing.

A dread that Kiyomi knew was coming. How many close encounters to death can one woman deal with? How many dead bodies does it take to forget the sight of her father's body on the staircase?

Kiyomi gritted her teeth and took another picture.

The guilt is getting to her. She knew it. The idea of Mido's death coming too soon, solely because of her-

Perhaps,

 _Click._

Perhaps she envied her other self. The one who died believing a god who brought forth justice. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

.

 _Don't start._

 _._

 _You're better than this._

 _._

 _._

 _You're better than all of this._

The sound of a rustling bush snapped her attention. She peered over the bush, seeing a squirrel amidst the fog run further into the forest.

She glanced at the dirt path she had followed. The damp air already erased the steps she had made.

Gripping her camera just a bit tighter, she stepped over the bush and followed the fading path the creature made. Past winding vines and watching yellow eyes, Kiyomi went deeper into the forest.

Then suddenly, fire was rushing through her veins.

* * *

" _Dear friend what can I do,_ _To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?_ " Kiyomi's own voice sounded foreign to her ears. She leaned against a window, her hand just barely touching the glass where a spider crawled up the screen.

The warm hue from a single lamp filled the hotel room, casting the two detectives in light. The rest of the force left hours ago, but Kiyomi always stayed late. Whether it be with Naomi or L, it didn't matter. She liked getting lost in work, especially in light of her recent decision to quit Sakura TV.

"It seems like Kiyomi-san is reflecting on the notes Beyond left."

"It seems like Ryuzaki is correct." Kiyomi spoke with a slight quirk in her tone as she turned to face L.

L leaned forward in his seat, just a bit. "Care to elaborate?" He asked.

Kiyomi sighed, letting her head rest on the wall. "I don't like Light. I'm flattered that you think I can deceive him, however," She paused, "I won't do it for long. Anything more than a month is impossible. For the sake of my own sanity" _Not that I have much of that left._

"Kiyomi-san has proven herself able to adapt to any situation. Even the smallest detail you learn from him could prove his guilt, however your terms have been acknowledged" L tilted his head. "Is there a particular reason of Kiyomi-sans dislike of Light-san?"

Kiyomi looked back at the window. The spider had disappeared.

"He creeps me out." Her reply was curt.

"Ah. It seems like Kiyomi-san is keeping secrets."

She rolled her eyes. No point in hiding it. Well, no point in hiding _some_ of it. "If I have to be honest," L raised his eyebrows as Kiyomi spoke. "The first time I ever saw him, he made me sick. Puked up everything I ate the second I got home, and he barely even said a word to me. I like to think that maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. Considering that he's now the main Kira suspect, it makes sense."

"Does Kiyomi-san believe in a higher power?"

"I don't believe in a God, no. But... I do believe in souls and reincarnation." She said, choosing her words carefully.

L took a loud slurp of his coffee. "Interesting." He said, "I didn't take Kiyomi-san as a spiritual person. Do you also believe in psychics? Maybe even witchcraft?"

Kiyomi knew L was just messing with her, she could tell even when he spoke with such a deadpan voice. Naomi mentioned that L was just like that, it's inevitable to eventually get used to it.

The conversation was veering in a direction Kiyomi didn't expect. It wasn't a big deal, this would be the type of conversation she'd have with Mido after classes. He'd be cooking and she'd be watching TV. She doubted that they'll ever have that again.

Instead she was talking with L. Odd how things work out.

Rather than giving L any type of response, she simply rolled her eyes. Maybe a bit too much. Her eyes kind of hurt now.

"That's a 'no' then. Going back to the topic of Light. Kiyomi-san could have a phobia of men? No, you have a history of dating and you have multiple strong platonic relationships with men." L began to muse out loud. "Perhaps an inferiority complex, seeing as you ranked number two on the nation wide exam in high school? You could have recognized his name since it was above yours. Or again, it could be a simple coincidence. Long work days, stress of school, staying out late at night-the panic attack could have been completely unrelated to Light."

"Careful, you're almost talking as much as Light now." She sat down in the seat across from him. Her tea had gone cold a while ago.

"He does seem to like the sound of his own voice."

"You think? Remember how long his freshman representative speech was?" She said, "If I didn't have to give a speech after you two during orientation, I would have fallen asleep."

"Your speech was rather lengthy as well, Kiyomi-san."

"Yeah, but mine was good."

"Of course, how could I forget." L muttered. "Kiyomi-san is narcissistic."

"Can you blame me?"

"Yes, rather easily."

Kiyomi threw a sugar cube at him with a frown, which L quickly dodged.

* * *

It was nearing five a.m. by the time Kiyomi left the hotel.

She sighed as she walked across the street. Openly sneering as a drunken businessman nearly walked right into her.

She knew where one Death note was going to be, but not the second. Luckily, she had the phone number of its current owner.

Hopefully Misa won't mind an early morning text.

Kiyomi's well manicured nails tapped away as she sent a text with too many emojis. If Kiyomi is lucky, then Misa might remember her, but Kiyomi wouldn't be surprised if she didn't.

She smirked as she put her phone back in her pocket. In her other pocket was her lighter, sadly it had been ignored for the past couple of weeks.

Maybe it was time to give it some attention again. She felt a bit pent up. With her retrieving Mido tomorrow night, she could use a spark to energize her. Plus, if she's able to meet up with Misa today (which is likely, seeing as Kiyomi snagged the models schedule through a contact at Sakura TV) , god knows she'll need a pick-me-up to handle the ditz.

She twirled the lighter in her pocket and nodded to herself. Picking up her pace, she walked to the same building she always went too.

* * *

 ** _Spring Snow Artist, kitsunez00, Leoneshia, Avisian , and homelybiscuit:_ Thank you for keeping up with the story! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑**

 ** _Blaise Welshman:_ is that a gosh dang jojo reference**

 ** _RimK10_ : Hey! It's nice seeing your username again! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ**

 ** _Alexandra Vupre_ : Thank you for your review! And yeah, when i was first writing this i felt obligated to add some sorta romance? Now that ive reread the story im almost in awe that I thought I could ship her with anyone (anyways...Kiyomi gives off Big Lesbian Energy) It's ether chapter 17 or 18 that the three are gonna be stuck talking to each other again, and im p sure kiyomi is not gonna be happy abt it lmao. OH AND YEAH BB being the joker to L's batman is :100emoji:**

 ** _missawsomesauce and iMayBeACatLover_ : Thanks! And im gonna give it my best shot at least! haha**

 ** _Nekoburi:_ Thank you for the corrections and continued reviews! They really kept me motivated to remember to update. I'll get around to editing past chapters eventually (•̀o•́)ง**

 **Reviews feed authors! Please let me know what you think of the story so far!**

 **If you want to ask me how the next chapter is going, or just feel like bullying me, send me an ask on tumblr! My url is hdsnail . tumblr . com**


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